Shay Mace
We first caught Dik Downey’s playful and engrossing adaptation Don Quixote (Is a Very Big Book) as part of Manipulate Festival at the start of this year, seeing Dik and his rogue’s gallery of puppets explore Cervantes’ odyssey about a doomed knight’s absurd journey through medieval Spain alongside a very personal journey of his own. We caught up with Dik for a pixelated pint to find out about the journey the show itself has been on, and what he’s looking forward to with the show arriving at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe this August.
You can catch Don Quixote (Is a Very Big Book) on August 5th – 31st (not the 12th, 17th or 24th) at King Dome at Pleasance Dome from 15:25 (55mins). Tickets are available through the EdFringe Online Box Office.
Shay: Hi Dik! I first caught your show, and very much enjoyed it, at Manipulate Festival here in Edinburgh this year. You’ve been touring the show around since, tell us a little about what you’ve been up to and for the uninformed, about the journey the show’s been on so far.
Dik: Hi Shay, after we performed this show at Manipulate, me and my lighting designer/touring technician, Chris Collier (who also co-wrote the show with me and director Emma Williams) packed everything into three suitcases and hightailed it to Edinburgh airport to take the first of three (progressively smaller) flights up into the Arctic Circle where we started a two-week tour of Nordland. We developed the show up there at the Nordland Visual Theatre, Stamsund, on the Lofoten Islands, Norway in June 2025, and part of the co-production with NVT was a tour of the region. We got to visit some pretty remote communities and experience the Norwegian winter; near perpetual darkness and an insane amount of snow and ice. Luckily NVT also provided us with a driver, Bart-Jan Oosting, who kept us safely on the road.
Back in May we took the show to Northern Spain. I was worried that taking their revered classic novel and bastardising it into an hour of clown chaos with puppets might get me into hot water. Truly, it was a strange experience having a time delay on the laughter as the audience read the sur-titles, but the show rocked and everyone was very happy, which was a massive relief.
Shay: You encounter many topics with the show, but it mostly centres around age, artistic vision, idealism, and creativity. Tell us about where you find your inspiration in all of it.
Dik: So many of the themes in the novel relate to both the character of Don Quixote and to myself. Both of us are getting old, have overactive imaginations, refuse to face reality (he sees giants, I play with dolls) and suffer the many hardships and indignities of modern life. Although the book was written in 1605, it is still hilarious, meaningful and insightful, and holds up a mirror to today’s issues and conundrums. After reading the book I knew we’d be taking on a mammoth task, but I was really inspired to make a show where I could experiment with styles of puppets, incorporate the amazing soundtracks composed by Simon Preston and develop something I would be extremely proud of.
The weird thing was I had to come up with a title for a new show on the spur of the moment after we were offered a creation slot at NVT after another company had to unexpectedly pull out. In a blind panic, I blurted out that I could make Don Quixote as a one-man clown show, with puppets and they jumped at the idea. However, I hadn’t actually read the book! My only relationship with it was a few years previously. Opposable Thumb Theatre had a show in Spain; and as we were being driven through the barren countryside, I was gazing out the window at the sun slowly setting behind the mountains, I thought “this is where Don Quixote would have lived!” I guess the idea of the character lodged itself in my head and was just waiting for his opportunity to spring to life.
Shay: The show features a vast array of puppets – including some that attach themselves to your body – tell us a little about what the audience can expect to see there, and about where they come from, and how you brought their personalities to light.
Dik: In this show I am weaving together the exploits of Don Quixote with tales of my own performance history. I’m using many different types of puppet, each one specific to characters from the book, but who also reflect performances I have made in the past. I get to play with styles and techniques I have developed in the 38 years of performing with puppets. In my shows I have always combined clowning with puppets, because I love the technical precision of puppetry and the unruly, anarchy of the clown. The audience should expect to see some exquisitely controlled mayhem.
Shay: What will be the first thing the audience sees, feels, and hears as they enter the space?
Dik: Due to self-imposed touring constraints (I needed everything to fit into three suitcases, for flying) the set is very minimal, so we rely heavily on lighting and sound to evoke the dry, dusty plains of La Mancha. We also require a vast amount of sand and a pile of old, rusty armour.
Shay: What are you hoping the audience might take away from the experience, if anything?
Dik: Firstly, a sore face from laughing, but also a feeling of hope. Despite Don Quixote’s delusions; his age, his idealistic principles, even his knackered, old horse, nothing will stop him from trying to achieve his goals. His refusal to give up shows us that there is nobility in failure.
Also, people of my generation will probably come away questioning my life choices: ‘Should he really be rolling around in a 17kg suit of armour at his age?’ And younger audiences will question theirs: ‘It’s hilarious, but would I really want to be doing this when I’m that old?’
Shay: What journey has the show been on to find itself at EdFringe 2026?
Dik: Well, this show was designed with the Fringe in mind. It’s compact, easy to set up and strike, ridiculous, funny and profound, plus it all comes in in under an hour. I’ve also had a personal trainer forcing me to get match fit, and I’ve been beefing up the armour and props in preparation of all the wear and tear it’ll go through in 24 performances.
Shay: With EdFringe now just around the corner, what are you most excited for?
Dik: I’ve been to the festival as a punter, but have never performed here, so I’m excited to witness it all from the other side of the curtain. I’m really looking forward to getting to do the show for such a long run and keen to see how it’ll morph and change as I get into a routine and play with the material. I know quite a few other people playing here, so I’ll get to catch up with old friends, make some new ones and hopefully see loads of shows. Particularly eager to see Dracula, Lucy’s Dreams by Plexus Polaire, who also made their show at NVT in Norway and are currently wowing audiences all over the world. This too is their first Fringe, so maybe we can start an Edinburgh Puppet Newbies Counselling Service after it’s all over.
Shay: Given the themes of Binge Fringe, if your show was a beverage of any kind (alcoholic, non-alcoholic – be as creative as you like!), what would it be and why?
Dik: There is an actual ‘Don Quixote’ cocktail made with rum, mango-pandan syrup and lime, which sounds ideal, but failing that, how about a ‘Rusty Nail’? Scotch Whiskey & Drambuie, now that would be very fitting for my first Edinburgh Festival.
A reminder, you can catch Don Quixote (Is a Very Big Book) on August 5th – 31st (not the 12th, 17th or 24th) at King Dome at Pleasance Dome from 15:25 (55mins). Tickets are available through the EdFringe Online Box Office.
Image Credit: Andre Pattenden
