Guest Blog: Lotte Wakeman: The Octagon Theatre's Artistic Director Talks About Bringing THE BOOK THIEF to the Stage

The Book Thief is a title which makes people's eyes light up. It's one of those novels which lingers in the reader's memory - an epic, time-shifting tale of war, death, kindness and the power of words.

Back in the early 2000s, my Mum told me about the book, as she had read it and knew that I would love it. Two of the central characters are called Liesel and Max; these are really special names in my family. My brother is called Max and my sister is Ellen Liesel; they are named after my Great Grandfather, Maximilien, and my Great Aunt Liesel, who were both Holocaust survivors. The themes of the book were totally captivating to me, and I fell in love with Markus Zusak's incredible gift for language.

As a director I'm often drawn to adaptations, from The Hound of the Baskervilles to Danny the Champion of the World. I love the challenge of staying true to the original material whilst also making the story work as a new piece of theatre. I spent many years as Associate Director on Matilda the Musical, seeing the show evolve from early workshops through to the first version in Stratford and then onto the West End and Broadway.

In any stage adaptation, the writers and creative team have countless crucial decisions to make: which elements to keep exactly the same as the book, what to leave out, which new elements to invent, when to let music or dance take on some of the 'heavy lifting' of the storytelling... A stage adaptation lives or dies by these decisions, and the more beloved the book is, the higher the stakes.

The Book Thief is a 626 page novel, spanning many locations and frequently shifting time periods. Turning it into a two act musical is no mean feat. Luckily, the show came with a stellar writing team already in place.

The bookwriters are Jodi Picoult - the worldwide best-selling novelist - and Tim McDonald, who has written many musical adaptations, including Roald Dahl's Willy Wonka and James and the Giant Peach. The music and lyrics are by Kate Anderson and Elyssa Samsel, who have written songs for Disney and Apple TV. This team have been collaborating for several years, not only on The Book Thief but also on an adaptation of one of Jodi's own novels - Between the Lines - which recently opened off-Broadway. They are unbelievably talented and also incredibly open and generous collaborators. It's been a pleasure to work with them over the last few years, as they've honed the script and score.

Two of the main characters in The Book Thief are children: Liesel and her best friend Rudy. We decided early on that we wanted child actors in these roles. Much of the story's power comes from seeing some of the horrors of war through these children's eyes, with their innocence in stark contrast to the adults around them.

This decision brought new factors to the adaptation process. When your story's heroine is a child, you have to take different things into account than you would for an adult performer. Years have been spent weighing up how much time they should be on stage, how demanding their singing should be, how much dialogue they will cope with, and of course, how best to approach such sensitive material with them. I've always loved working with young performers, and my time on Matilda taught me a huge amount about what children can achieve on stage, with the right support.

After several years of development, we're finally at the point of going into rehearsals for this world premiere production. I can't wait to see what new discoveries we make, before finally putting The Book Thief in front of its first audience.

The Book Thief is at the Octagon Theatre, Bolton 17 September-15 October

Photo Credit: Octagon Theatre

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