The hubby and I  had already booked our tickets for the actual performance of The Book Thief months ago and had subsequently been invited along to the pre-show Q&A held a few weeks ago to meet some of the cast, hear interviews with co-librettist Jodi Picoult amongst others (the othe co-producer Timothy Allen McDonald wasn’t there) and to hear some of the songs written by Elyssa Samsel and Kate Anderson. I was hooked.

During the audience questions the hubby asked a question about how the show would portray the colours – which meant nothing to me having no prior knowledge of the story but, apparently, it was a really good question. Hubby later explained that colours were used throughout Markus Zusak’s book.

As I hadn’t had time to read the book and not wanting to be in for any hidden surprises I watched the film yesterday – and was still at a bit of a loss about the colours question as there wasn’t an abundance of mention or use of colours in the film. It did prepare me for the storyline though and I made sure I had tissues to hand!

Tonight we took our seats in our beloved Curve Theatre and I waited in trepidation – looking at a single suitcase in the middle of the stage – it wasn’t long before the importance of those colours became so very relevant. From the white of the snow as Liesel’s brother is buried and the flash of red as her mother is taken away to be killed and through to the blue of the sky as deep as the inside of an ice cube colour was used to describe the beauty of life despite the blackness of the times they lived in. Colour is used so vividly throughout that we can almost imagine what Max, so wonderfully played by Daniel Krikler, felt when he wasn’t able to see outside for over 90 days – stuck in the basement where his very life depended on him remaining hidden.

I won’t go into detail about the story as I simply wouldn’t do it justice but the entire cast certainly did as they took us on a journey of life and learning so compassionately directed by Lotte Wakeham with one of the most impactful things being the use of  breath. As the source of life that breath was used brilliantly to highlight turning points in the life of Liesel – the book thief herself – and the choreography by Tom Jackson Greaves incorporated those exhalations within the scene changes as well as the dance numbers.

Obioma Ugoala’s portrayal of the Narrator was sometimes sinister, other times humorous but always gentle and kind somehow and he kept the story flowing beautifully by dropping a book here, placing an accordion there, a cigarette box into a hand. His voice was a joy to listen to and his identity was hidden in plain sight (for those who don’t know him….yet…we will all meet him one day).

The versatile and extremely clever use of the set designed by Good Teeth complimented by Nic Farman’s lighting took us from one scene to another almost seamlessly and, especially with the passage of time in the second half, it led us down paths of joy and sorrow.

The music was very apt throughout – with softer, lyrical music for those moments showing love and kindness to the more disjointed music of the awful times these every day people were living through. It made for, quite rightly, an uncomfortable end to the first half when we applauded the song but with the awful Swastika flags that were prevalent all over Germany at that time – flags that are used to this day to incite hatred and fear – flying above the cast’s heads.

The brusqueness of Mina Anwar’s Rosa Hubermann contrasted with the gentleness of Jack Lord’s Hans Hubermann and belied the love that the couple had for each other and the love that grew for Liesel, the child they fostered, initially, for an income. The chemistry between these two actors was so believable and reminded me of many couples who can’t live with each other yet can’t live without. I was already starting to become an emotional wreck part way through the second half and the tears started to fall during Mina’s rendition of ‘Dreadful’. They kept on falling as we learned that death does indeed come for us all and, that sometimes, it is unfair and in an instant!

The absolute stars of the show though are the youngsters who portray Liesel and her ‘annoying’ friend Rudy. I have now heard various members of this young company perform and they are all outstanding! The innocence of childhood in times of vitriol, hatred and dehumanising of people because they are different from ‘the acceptable’ shines a light and these young actors carried that light beautifully.

It also struck home how relevant the story is today with efforts to ban over 4,000 books in America over the last two years as opposed to just over 1,700 over the previous four years (a quick Google can tell you more). With The Book Thief novel itself being challenged several times – and with division becoming more and more prevalent again – a rise in the public showing of support for that awful, awful flag being an example. The dehumanising language being used just this week in our own UK government’s speeches, propaganda being used to sow division and a tolerance for bigotry and hatred. It is as relevant today as it was in 1940s Germany.

When having a heart is seen as “woke”, wrong somehow and the kind in humankind is being decimated by divisive rhetoric and intolerance then words – kind words – become even more important and this production brings this home time and again and we need to become the word shaker.

Life is fleeting. Your death can be remembered for a matter of moments but your life can have an impact forever. It is, indeed, “up to us to make the world a better place” as taken from the Writers’ Notes in the programme and we could all learn from the themes of this story and the adaptation into a musical, whilst feeling weird at first given the subject matter, definitely does the story line justice.

I have been lucky enough to be gifted a ticket for tomorrow night’s performance and I am completely looking forward to seeing this heartfelt production again.

The Book Thief continues its run at Curve Theatre until Saturday 14th October and tickets can be purchased from the theatre box office.