Don Quixote (is a very big book)

Don Quixote (is a very big book) 

Opposable Thumb Theatre and Nordland Visual Theatre present a new one man show in which Dik Downey’s mid-life crisis smashes headlong into Don Quixote’s crazed delusions.

While Quixote chases impossible dreams, Dik, armed with a rogue’s gallery of puppets and desperate clowning, embarks on surreal, comic misadventures, accompanied by his wisecracking sidekick, Sancho Panza, and his decrepit horse, Rocinante.  

While Dik fights to retell this huge novel to a contemporary audience and make the best show he has ever made, we see something else: a performer’s refusal to yield to the passing of time. As Quixote chases his impossible dreams of glory, Dik faces his own dwindling relevance and his mortality.  

Written and devised by Emma Williams, Dik Downey and Chris Collier, this international co-production blends laugh-out-loud moments with mad reflections on the joys and indignities of growing old and fighting against the inevitable. 

Don Quixote (is a very big book) comes to Tobacco Factory Theatres fresh from an incredible run at the 2026 Edinburgh Fringe.

★★★★★ Theatre Weekly ★★★★★ The Wee Review ★★★★★ One4Review ★★★★ Corr Blimey ★★★★ A Young(ish) Perspective ★★★★ Binge Fringe ★★★★ The List ★★★★ The Stage ★★★★ Mervyn Stutter’s Pick Of The Fringe

 “…one of the best shows of the year. It’s so funny that your face will hurt.” (Bristol 24/7)

“slapstick comedy, and touching vulnerability… outstanding” (The Scotsman)

“The puppets and puppetry are wonderful, the story is a classic, the storytelling is engaging, and it is a very funny performance.” (The Wee Review)