Review: The BFG (Royal Shakespeare Theatre)

Review by Raphael Kohn

⭐️⭐️⭐️

The last time a Roald Dahl story was adapted for the stage at the RSC, a mega-hit was made in Matilda The Musical. 15 years on, another Dahl story is brought to life; this time, it’s The BFG. Comparisons are all but inevitable, even if somewhat unfair, not only due to their shared author but also as it’s the RSC’s biggest global phenomenon since Les Misérables. Not only that, but after a year and a half in the role, Co-Artistic Director Daniel Evans is finally making his directing debut on his company’s main stage. It’s fair to say the stakes seem rather high.

There is, however, quite a difference between the two. On the one hand, Matilda charms its younger viewers with its accessible and amusing storytelling while also giving the adults plenty of nostalgia. The BFG doesn’t quite have the same amount of depth. It’s somewhat simpler (and yet also rather absurd), following young orphan Sophie as she gets abducted by a giant who turns out to be the only giant who does not eat humans, and embarks on a quest to persuade the queen to protect humanity from evil giants.

What this play does ooze from its first moment to its last is charm. Every moment is filled with a childlike sense of wonder, sparkling with magic and humour. Lots of this is down to some terrific stagecraft, mainly in the form of Toby Olié’s puppets. Even just looking at the large BFG puppet towering over Sophie is a marvel, its swinging limbs commandeered by a crack team onstage and voiced by actor John Leader from offstage. You simply can’t help but be exhilarated by the very sight of it. When it speaks, it speaks in the giants’ ‘langwitch’ (language), full of Dahl’s neologisms and wonky grammar. It could have made for awkward viewing; thankfully, it’s more funny than flat. 

Size and scale are played with quite a lot throughout the show, as actors swap on for their puppet counterparts. At times, Sophie is played by a human actor (on press night, the effervescent Ellemie Shivers) opposite the huge BFG puppet; at others, Sophie will be downsized to a pint-sized puppet opposite John Leader in the flesh as the BFG, complete with oversized rubber ears. There’s a handful of other tricks thrown in as well, scaling supporting characters up and down to suit different scenes, and by and large it works a treat. At times, perhaps it gets a bit uncanny valley, but it’s a fantasy show featuring puppets, so you have to just suspend your disbelief.

It's a glimmering spectacle throughout. Key sequences are lit with flair by Zoe Spurr, with projections on the back wall and floor by Akhila Krishnan making the whole show a dazzling treat for the eyes. From the BFG’s exhilarating dash through London as he abducts Sophie, to party-like dream sequences, it’s clear that a lot of work has been put into making this show as visually stylish as possible. It works nicely on Vicki Mortimer’s surprisingly empty stage, where projections form the bulk of the scene-setting rather than physical features. It also sounds beautiful thanks to Oleta Haffner’s cinematic score, lusciously played by a seven-piece band that sounds at least three times its size.

But I can’t help but wonder if it’s all played a bit too safe, a bit too simply, and too comfortably. It’ll charm the kids throughout its sub-2-hour runtime, but what about the adults who bring them to the theatre? The true test of family entertainment is whether it will engage everyone in the family, rather than just the children. Dahl’s work is certainly not lacking in material, with its dark themes providing limitless opportunity for adapters to find meaning in. Child neglect, genuine danger, and the importance of standing up to bullies are all in there, waiting to be explored. Tom Wells’ adaptation may have charm in abundance, but it seems to be more of a ‘children’s show’ than a ‘family show’.

Think about it: it’s hardly a happy tale of a child being neglected in an orphanage, then abducted, and nobody looks for her after she is abducted. What could Wells have explored in Sophie’s carefree trusting of a stranger who kidnaps her? Is Stranger Danger completely dead? I know it’s a fantasy, of course. In the real world, the story would be less of a fantasy and more of a safeguarding concern. But with Dahl’s source material providing the building blocks for something deeper, and with the finished product running for under 2 hours, there’s a hole in the narrative where something more meaningful should be. 

It is, at least, performed with aplomb. John Leader takes on the role of the BFG, with huge boots to fill, and brings charisma and magic to the role even when he’s just voicing the puppet. There’s even more joy in the double-act of Helena Lymbery as the Queen and Sargon Yelda as her butler Tibbs, particularly in their bewildering interactions with military captains Smith and Frith (Philip Labey and Luke Sumner), who, I dare say, risk stealing the show.

There’s certainly more than a superficial degree of charm to the whole thing. I just wish there was more under the surface, something more interesting to get stuck into. I sat waiting for the ‘When I Grow Up’ moment (apologies for another comparison to Matilda, but the similarities are there to be compared). That moment where the children’s smiles meet the adults’ tears should have come, and there’s certainly enough in the source material to accommodate this. But it never comes, and the show pulls its curtain down too briskly, having pleased its audiences enough with a cheery, if simple, adaptation. It’ll meet your kids’ expectations, no doubt. But it won’t do much more than that.

The BFG plays at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre until 7^th February 2026, then transfers to Chichester Festival Theatre and Singapore Repertory Theatre. Tickets for the RSC’s run from https://www.rsc.org.uk/the-bfg/

Photos by Marc Brenner