A new musical adaptation of Markus Zusak’s bestselling novel, The Book Thief, comes to Coventry’s Belgrade Theatre in September. Director Lotte Wakeham talks to What’s On about how the book has been reinterpreted for the stage, what audiences can expect, and her personal connection to the story...

Adapting a novel beloved by millions for stage or film is always a tricky proposition. Get it right and you’ve got a surefire hit on your hands - get it wrong and you’ll incur the wrath of the multitude. 

That was the dilemma faced by the team behind the theatrical version of Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief. Published in 2006, the novel has sold more than 16 million copies worldwide and already been made into a well-received film starring Geoffrey Rush and Emily Watson.

The novel tells the story of an illiterate orphan girl who, after stealing an abandoned book in 1930s Nazi Germany, goes on to learn about the power of words from a Jewish boy that her foster parents hide in their basement. It’s ultimately a heartening tale, but set against the backdrop of the horrors and atrocities of World War Two, which it never shies away from. 

Turning a brick-size novel into a stage play is one thing, but making a musical about such dark subject matter is clearly a riskier endeavour entirely. Director Lotte Wakeham says the key to making it work has been an exceptional writing team. 

“Jodi Picoult, who is a worldwide bestselling author in her own right, has adapted the book, along with Tim McDonald, who has done a lot of Roald Dahl adaptations for the stage, including James And The Giant Peach,” she explains. “They were both incredibly talented at taking Markus Zusak’s original novel, which is over 600 pages long, and distilling it down, as well as getting a real balance of light and shade. 

“The other element, of course, is the songs, and we have a brilliant songwriting team of Kate Anderson and Elyssa Samsel [whose previous work includes Apple TV’s Central Park and Olaf’s Frozen Adventure]. It’s such a haunting, beautiful and epic score, and it really does move the story along. It’s not an easy job to adapt such a beloved book, but they’ve really cracked it.”

Audiences and critics seem to agree - the show received rave reviews when it premiered at the Octagon in Bolton last year, with some fans even flying in from Europe and America to see it. It was a joy to see their reaction, says Lotte, who is also the Octagon’s artistic director and spent years on the project.

“Lots of people have a relationship with this story, whether they know the multi-million-selling novel or the film version, so it’s been a real honour to bring it to the stage. I became involved because I got to know the amazing American writing team, and they were very keen, because it’s a European story, to have the show premiere in the UK rather than in the US. So I suggested Bolton!”

Keeping fans of the novel onside - while creating something in a completely different medium - has been especially satisfying for Lotte. It’s a balancing act she admits she really enjoys.

“I’m really drawn to adaptations as a director - I love that process of turning something that’s in a different form, like a novel or a film or TV show, into a stage experience and making it theatrical. I spent many years as associate director on Matilda The Musical, from the early days workshopping it before it went to [the RSC in] Stratford-upon-Avon and then the West End and Broadway, and that was a really amazing learning experience. 

“We spend a lot of time thinking about what we can do to make it feel like a piece of theatre and different to the experience of reading a chapter in a novel.”

The Book Thief is especially beloved in Lotte’s family. Not only is it one of her all-time favourites, there are also a number of personal connections to the story...

“I first got to know the book because my mum told me about it, and she was particularly excited to let me know that two of the central characters are called Liesel and Max. These are really special names in my family because my brother is called Max and my sister is called Ellen Liesel, and they’re named after my great grandfather Maximilien, and my great aunt Liesel, who are both holocaust survivors.

“So right from the beginning I felt really connected to the material, and it’s been such an honour to explore it and to tell this story in a way which we hope is very respectful but also a really incredible experience for the audience.

“It’s a very moving show, but it’s also got bits that are very funny. Even though it has very dark themes, it’s ultimately a really uplifting story about the power of words and the importance of holding on to hope.”

Despite some of the darker content, Lotte claims The Book Thief is very much a family show, not least because the two main characters, Liesel and Rudy, are both children. She suggests the musical is suitable for youngsters aged 10 and older - “an age when they’re often starting to learn about World War Two” - and explains that a lot of thought went into ensuring the production would be appropriate for a younger audience.

“We see a lot of the story through the eyes of these two children, so we’ve thought a lot about how to tell it in a sensitive way that will also be suitable for children watching.

“Seeing it through their eyes and watching things unravel around them is a really interesting angle to take the story from, which is partly what Markus does in his novel, too.”

Things will unravel on an even greater scale in the new version, with the show expanded to fill the larger Belgrade stage. The production is scheduled to move on to The Curve in Leicester, with more dates set to be announced, according to Lotte, who adds that everything about the revised show is bigger and bolder. 

“We’re expanding the cast, so we’ll have more people on stage, which is really exciting. It’s also given the writers the chance to rework some of the scenes. We wanted it to feel even more epic in nature. The Octagon is a beautiful space, but it’s quite intimate and relatively small compared to Coventry, so we’re really excited to tell this epic story on the main stage at the Belgrade - making it bigger and adding more design elements.

“What we found in Bolton was that people felt they were really having a West End-quality experience, and I think audiences in Coventry will feel the same. This is only the second time we’ve done the show, so for audiences to be among the first people to see it will be really special, as I think it’s the start of what will hopefully be a really epic journey.”

by Steve Adams