Award-winning bestseller, The Bookbinder of Jericho, from New York Times bestselling South Australian author Pip Williams, is hitting the stage in a world-first adaptation of the beloved novel.
The co-production from State Theatre Company South Australia, Sydney Theatre Company and Arts Centre Melbourne has been adapted for the stage by South Australian playwright Verity Laughton, who brought the vivid world of the Ruby Award-winning The Dictionary of Lost Words to the stage for two sell-out seasons in Adelaide and nationally. The play will have its world premiere at the Dunstan Playhouse, Adelaide Festival Centre in September 2027, before heading to the Sydney Opera House.
Theatre lovers in South Australia can join a waitlist today ahead of State Theatre Company’s Season 2027 launch on September 30.
Join the waitlist HERE.
A companion piece to Williams’ international bestseller The Dictionary of Lost Words, The Bookbinder of Jericho is set in 19th Century Oxford, this time from the viewpoint of Peggy, twin sister to Maude (played by new Adelaide talent Billie-Rose Russell). Also starring Melissa Kahraman and Ksenja Logos (The Dictionary of Lost Words), the production will feature the creative talents of designer Jonathon Oxlade, costume designer Ailsa Paterson and sound designer Max Lyandvert, under the direction of Shannon Rush.
Evocative, subversive and rich with unforgettable characters, The Bookbinder of Jericho is a story about knowledge – who gets to make it, who gets to access it, and what is lost when it is withheld. Artistic Director Petra Kalive says she is thrilled to bring Williams’ second book to life on stage.
“Pip Williams and Verity Laughton have a way with history that I find almost unfair – they use the world of a century ago, the bindery girls and the printed sheets, the war remaking the city outside – to speak directly to the choices we’re making right now,” she says. “It’s going to be truly excellent.”
The Bookbinder of Jericho, Dunstan Playhouse, September 24 – 16 Oct 2027
Image: Claudio Raschella
