Edinburgh Fringe 2024
The Bookbinder
Trick of the Light
Genre: Puppetry, Shadow Puppets, Storytelling
Venue: Summerhall
Festival: Edinburgh Fringe
Low Down
The intimate, site-specific setting of Til’s bookshop on Buccleuch Terrace offers the ideal backdrop for a story that seamlessly blends the past with the present, the real with the fantastical. A captivating mix of pop-up book art, puppetry, and live storytelling, all seamlessly blended into a visually stunning performance.
Review
We enter the captivating tiny bookshop that is Til’s on Buccleuch Terrace. There is a table with a few books, a lamp and a sign ‘Apprentice Sought’. Surrounded by books there is just enough room for a few rows of chairs and a front row of cushions on the floor.
There could be no better setting for The Bookbinder than Til’s tiny bookshop, nestled among Edinburgh’s towering tenements adjacent to the Meadows. This intimate, atmospheric venue feels like the perfect home for Ralph McCubbin Howell’s enchanting one-man show, where the story of a bookbinder’s apprentice unfolds with charm and wit.
Originally performed in the back room of a second-hand bookshop, The Bookbinder from New Zealans’ Trick of the Light Theatre has graced the Fringe in various venues and always to critical acclaim, but there is something particularly magical about this setting as though it has come home to its roots.
Surrounded by books, with a lamp casting shadows across the shelves and a sign inviting applications for an apprentice, the scene is set for a tale that spills from the pages into our imaginations.
The show begins with McCubbin Howell, who also wrote the piece, settling into the role of an old bookbinder, recounting the tale of a young apprentice whose shortcut in repairing an ancient book leads to a perilous adventure. The story is told through a captivating mix of pop-up book art, puppetry, and live storytelling, all seamlessly blended into a visually stunning performance.
The Bookbinder is not just a story, but an experience that immerses the audience in a world of dark fairy tales and rich imagery. The writing is lyrical and witty, weaving a narrative that is both charming and atmospheric. McCubbin Howell draws us into the story with alomost hypnotic power – even the children sitting on the cushions at the front barely moved a muscle throughout. The way he manipulates light, particularly with a simple desk lamp, is nothing short of ingenious. Shadows transform the space, creating sweeping eagles on the walls and revealing hidden details, like a nest of baby birds in a bowl-like lampshade creating a constantly changing landscape within this intimate setting.
The use of music is equally precise, perfectly timed to support the storytelling without ever intruding. The minimal set, a table that seems to hold a random collection of items, reveals its secrets as the story unfolds. The audience is treated to fold-out scenes, shadow and hand puppets, and tiny paper figures, all of which are intricately crafted and beautifully presented.
This sprawling dark fairy tale, with its archetypal hero’s journey, is a story for all ages. Whether you’re a child sitting on the floor at McCubbin Howell’s feet or an adult perched on a chair, you will be captivated. It’s a must-see at the Fringe if you’re lucky enough to get a ticket, prepare to be enchanted.
As for me, I’ll be browsing the shelves at Til’s or sipping a hot chocolate from the nearby coffee stall (run by the bookshop), still lost in the world of The Bookbinder.
