The impressionist Jon Culshaw is to play Bill Bryson in a new stage adaptation of Notes from a Small Island, the Iowa-born author’s bestselling book about British eccentricities.

Culshaw, whose impersonations have long been heard on the radio show Dead Ringers, said that Bryson’s “delicious wit” made it a joy to prepare for the role. Bryson said he was “intrigued and excited to see how Notes from a Small Island will be translated into a theatrical experience. I am especially delighted that Jon Culshaw will be taking the lead role. I have no doubt that he will be a better me than I am.”

Bryson wrote the book in the mid-90s, after taking a valedictory tour of the country before he moved back to the US for a few years. Notes from a Small Island sold more than 2m copies and was chosen by BBC Radio 4 listeners as the book that best represents British identity.

Culshaw is currently on tour with his show The Great British Take Off. His previous stage roles have included King Arthur in Monty Python’s Spamalot and a chilling, tangerine-tanned US president in Harold Pinter’s recently discovered sketch The Pres and an Officer, staged as part of the Pinter at the Pinter season in 2018.

Adapted by playwright and screenwriter Tim Whitnall, Notes from a Small Island will be directed by the Watermill theatre’s artistic director Paul Hart. It will open at the Watermill, Newbury, in September and then tour to Malvern, Cambridge and Richmond, with further dates to be announced.