Making noise is fun. Children know this. Roald Dahl knew this. Thankfully, so does Phil Clark, The BFG’s director. Given that story on which this is based takes such joy in the making of sounds, it is a pleasure to see that this obsession has been carried onto the stage where any excuse is taken to make a funny noise or a play on words. Whizzpops abound and the frobscottle flows freely while the music, performed by the cast, sets the mood wonderfully. A lot of thought has gone into the sound of this production which enhances the show no end, making it all far more exciting, funny, touching and scary, as appropriate.
This retelling of Roald Dahl’s classic novel is framed under the pretence of sleepover, where a young girl has her friends and family act out the story of The BFG. With that out of the way, we jump straight into the night time abduction of lonely orphan Sophie by a big scary giant. As ‘human beans’ are not supposed to believe in giants, he tells her that he will have to keep her but he won’t be eating her as he is a Big Friendly Giant. Soon they bond and she learn all about snozzcumbers, dream catching and father figures. Her fun is soon thwarted by the BFG’s less friendly, more man-eating compatriots. Enter: the Queen of England...
Performances are, across the board, energetic and endearing. Anthony Pedley has played the BFG over a thousand times and it is hard to imagine anyone more suited to the role. The size difference between the central roles is dealt with in a clever way that doesn’t take the audience out of the story and the sets are also inventive and effective. The bad giants are excellently portrayed, appearing like a cross between the Gremlins and the Tweenies, which is as scary as it sounds.
This play is an ideal family show, the best you’ll find outside of panto season. The fart jokes are plentiful, admittedly, but the relationship between the BFG and Sophie and some dark moments do elevate this above overwhelming childishness. There is not a great sense of peril and the denouement almost happens offstage but there is enough fun had along the way to forgive this. And really, one doesn’t often get to see a big friendly giant whizzpopping right in the face of the Queen – just about anyone can enjoy that!
This retelling of Roald Dahl’s classic novel is framed under the pretence of sleepover, where a young girl has her friends and family act out the story of The BFG. With that out of the way, we jump straight into the night time abduction of lonely orphan Sophie by a big scary giant. As ‘human beans’ are not supposed to believe in giants, he tells her that he will have to keep her but he won’t be eating her as he is a Big Friendly Giant. Soon they bond and she learn all about snozzcumbers, dream catching and father figures. Her fun is soon thwarted by the BFG’s less friendly, more man-eating compatriots. Enter: the Queen of England...
Performances are, across the board, energetic and endearing. Anthony Pedley has played the BFG over a thousand times and it is hard to imagine anyone more suited to the role. The size difference between the central roles is dealt with in a clever way that doesn’t take the audience out of the story and the sets are also inventive and effective. The bad giants are excellently portrayed, appearing like a cross between the Gremlins and the Tweenies, which is as scary as it sounds.
This play is an ideal family show, the best you’ll find outside of panto season. The fart jokes are plentiful, admittedly, but the relationship between the BFG and Sophie and some dark moments do elevate this above overwhelming childishness. There is not a great sense of peril and the denouement almost happens offstage but there is enough fun had along the way to forgive this. And really, one doesn’t often get to see a big friendly giant whizzpopping right in the face of the Queen – just about anyone can enjoy that!