25 November – 7 February
A brave child, a gentle-hearted giant, and a tribe of flesh-eating super giants meet on the main stage in Stratford in two hours of dazzling theatrical enchantment. The RSC and four other companies have answered the huge physical challenge of reimagining Roald Dahl’s famous story with a combination of brilliant puppetry, inspired design, a kaleidoscope of colour and light and a strong cast of human actors.
Director Daniel Evans heads a larger than usual creative and technical team; the production credits run to four pages in the programme. But none of this artistic and technical wizardry disturbs the magic of our experience. The props department deserves special mention for their extraordinary constructions; Buckingham Palace, a bed fit for a queen, giant-catching helicopters, a miniature orphanage, Big Ben, and a cupboard full of dreams, to name but a few. The puppets are superb.
Bloodbottler, chief of the monstrous guzzlers, invisibly manipulated by five expert puppeteers, looms over frightened children (and adults) in the front of the stalls. Our delicious frisson of fear in his thuggish presence rises to a climax of tension in the battle before culminating in a wonderfully satisfactory conclusion as the baddies are soundly defeated by a combination of 8-year-old ingenuity and the magical dream-catching powers of the BFG.
Dahl’s children are always the clever ones and Sophie is no exception. Three young performers share the role and on press night we were treated to bold, athletic, sparky Ellemie Shivers. In an inspired addition to the original story, Sophie has a friend – fellow orphan Kimberley (Maisy Lee). Kimberley is left in the orphanage when Sophie is whisked off to Giantland, thus giving an extra personal impetus to the fight to save the children of London. The original Dahl story has been adapted for stage by Tom Wells with further material by Jenny Worton who may also be responsible for the enhanced role of the absurd army chiefs and the wonderful Queen, played with majestic aplomb by Helen Lymbery, as well as creating a delightful twist at the end.
At the centre of all this is John Leader’s deeply empathic BFG. He is a delicate soul, melancholy and lonely, desperate to save the children he loves, but powerless to succeed without the superlative brain power of his small human ally. Leader is perfect as the giant who speaks his own ‘langwitch’ and whose words so often get ‘squiff squiddled around’. His genius with dreams coupled with Sophie’s sound rationalism make a perfect combination. As in Quentin Blake’s illustrations to the original book, he bounds over earthly towns and villages, morphing imperceptibly to giant size when meeting the real-life Sophie. One of the most moving moments in the show is when he nestles the tiny Sophie puppet in his arms, a hint of the father daughter bond which is so central to the story.
If you go, listen out for Math Roberts’ versatile and eclectic musical score, ranging from Potteresque keyboard stardust to a rousing Viennese-style waltz in the build-up to the palace breakfast banquet, and rising to a splendid brass and wind climax for the ‘whizz pop’ competition.
Grab a child and splash out on tickets. The entire event has all the boisterous fun of pantomime with none of the cringe-making attempts to bring everything up to date. You’ll leave the theatre smiling.
★★★★★ Ros Carne 10 December 2025
Photographers credit @ Marc Brenner
