The Bookbinder

The Bookbinder is a one-man play currently being performed by its creator, Ralph McCubbin Howell. He, along with Hannah Smith, form Trick Of The Light Theatre. It's been on at Circa Theatre for a couple of weeks, having been performed around New Zealand and also at the Edinburgh Festival.


We went along on a Thursday night, having first dined on Cuba Street at Plum Café, where we had a quick pre-theatre dinner. Perusing the drinks list, I saw that they sell a beer called Emerson's Bookbinder, which seemed the natural choice for such a performance.

It's a short show with no interval. The narrator, a bookbinder, tells the story of a young man arriving in the big city, and taking a job as apprentice to a bookbinder. He takes on a job and promises to have it ready the following day, but has underestimated the amount of time and inevitably, he cuts corners on the work which resulted in a page falling out. This then has disastrous consequences, which he has to face and conquer, in order to undo the damage his shoddy work has caused. He manages this, but breaks his leg in the process. He survives, a wiser and more careful man.

At the end of the show, the bookbinder limps off the stage. It's him! It's his own story! Shock!