THE BFG

Chichester Festival Theatre

★★★★

“a production designed to entertain while celebrating imagination, dreams and friendship”

A young girl, a lonely giant and a world of dreams collide in this imaginative stage version of The BFG. Adapted by Tom Wells with additional material by Jenny Worton, the production brings Roald Dahl’s beloved story to the stage with a blend of puppetry, theatrical ingenuity and mischievous humour.

The story centres on Sophie, an orphan troubled by sleepless nights, who encounters the Big Friendly Giant during one of his midnight wanderings. Swept away to Giant Country, Sophie (Martha Bailey Vine) gradually realises that her captor, the BFG (John Leader), is not like the other giants who roam the world in search of children to devour. Instead he spends his nights collecting dreams and survives on the resolutely inedible snozzcumber. As Sophie begins to understand the scale of the threat posed by the other giants, including the blustering Bloodbottler (Richard Riddell), the unlikely pair devise a plan to stop them, one that ultimately involves soliciting the help of the Queen (Helena Lymbery).

Directed by Daniel Evans, the production places its emphasis on theatrical storytelling. The first half takes a little time to find its momentum as it establishes the world of giants and dreams, but once past this scene-setting the show settles into a livelier rhythm. Much of its charm lies in an inventive play with scale and perspective, using props, video and puppetry to evoke a world shared by giants and humans. From the magical doll’s house orphanage to lantern-like silhouettes of London landmarks and the decidedly unappetising snozzcumbers, the design constantly toys with proportion.

Central to this approach is the use of both human performers and puppet versions of characters to emphasise scale. The puppetry, designed and directed by Toby Olié with co-designers Daisy Beattie and Seb Mayer, provides a clever theatrical solution to the story’s shifting perspectives. It works particularly well in scenes between Sophie and the BFG. At times it becomes a little confusing, particularly when both puppet and human versions appear on stage together without an obvious narrative reason, but it remains an imaginative response to the story’s visual challenges.

At its centre is John Leader as the BFG. Balancing physical performance with the puppet’s presence, Leader brings awkward humour alongside a gentler melancholy, capturing the character’s mixture of innocence and quiet resilience. Sophie, played on press night by Martha Bailey Vine, captures the character’s blend of curiosity, vulnerability and determination. Helena Lymbery brings comic authority to the Queen, moving from a lonely monarch attended by her butler Tibbs (Sargon Yelda) to a decisive problem-solver once Sophie and the BFG arrive at Buckingham Palace. Philip Labey and Luke Sumner are particularly funny as the Queen’s guards, Captain Smith and Captain Frith, their elaborate moustaches becoming a running gag that lands equally well in both human and puppet form. Richard Riddell relishes the brutish swagger of the Bloodbottler, while Sophie’s friend Kimberley is played on press night by Uma Patel, bringing warmth and charm to the role and ending the play with a delightful sense of wonder, celebrating both her and the audience’s love of the magical.

The visual world is shaped by designer Vicki Mortimer, whose set moves fluidly between orphanage dormitory, Buckingham Palace and the strange landscape of Giant Country, while costumes by Kinnetia Isidore reflect the production’s playful, dreamlike aesthetic. Lighting by Zoe Spurr, video design by Akhila Krishnan and illusions by Chris Fisher help shift the tone from shadowy night-time encounters to the bright absurdity of the royal court. Music by Oleta Haffner and sound design from Carolyn Downing support the production’s blend of humour and unease, while movement direction by Ira Mandela Siobhan gives the giants and dream sequences a distinctive physical language. The puppets themselves are brought vividly to life by a skilled team of performers including Ben Thompson, Shaun McCourt, Elisa de Grey, Onioluwa Taiwo, Fred Davis, Corey Mitchell, Parkey Abeyratne and Sonya Cullingford.

Evans’s staging keeps the focus firmly on the unlikely friendship at the centre of the story, delivering a production designed to entertain while celebrating imagination, dreams and friendship.

THE BFG

Chichester Festival Theatre

Reviewed on 12th March 2026

by Ellen Cheshire

Photography by Marc Brenner

The BFG is a Chichester Festival Theatre, Royal Shakespeare Company, Singapore Repertory Theatre, Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay, and Roald Dahl Story Company production

THE BFG

★★★

“what could be a gripping, nail-biting production is brought away from the cliff edge by the proclamatory style of the writing”

Malorie Blackman’s series of novels, headlined by the opener “Noughts and Crosses”, describes an alternative, present-day reality in which the controversial subject of racial power is turned on its head. The premise is explored through a tale of forbidden love in the vein of ‘Romeo and Juliet’. The two teenage protagonists are from opposite sides of the social divide in Blackman’s young adult fiction. The target audience is apparent in Dominic Cooke’s stage adaptation which has gone straight for the bull’s eye; and therein lies both its strengths and its weaknesses.

Society is divided into the subservient Noughts – the white underclass; and the Crosses – the privileged black people who hold the power. Like the novel, the story is told through the eyes of Sephy (Corinna Brown) and Callum (Noah Valentine). When their innocent childhood friendship grows into a blossoming romance it drifts into dangerous territory – Sephy is a Cross while Callum is a Nought. Furthermore, Sephy’s father is running for Prime Minister while Callum’s father, and elder brother, are embroiled in freedom fighting, plotting terrorist attacks under the banner of the Liberation Militia.

Directed by Tinuke Craig, the storytelling is exceptionally clear – with Brown and Valentine intermittently speaking out to the audience, pointing out major plot turns with their slightly false-sounding street patois. When not involved in the scene, the entire cast watch from the sidelines; silently observing, and judging, ready to jump in if needed to either calm or exacerbate the situation. Colin Richmond’s harsh metallic, multi-layered set gives the gritty backdrop required for this urban fable, although a touch incongruous against the lush greenery of Regent’s Park which it ignores rather than tries to incorporate. Max Pappenheim’s powerful sound design provides the tension and menace, aided and abetted by Joshua Pharo’s lighting. Nevertheless, what could be a gripping, nail-biting production is brought away from the cliff edge by the proclamatory style of the writing. Often too simplistic, the issues come across as overly black and white (pun intended).

Despite the lack of nuance, Brown and Valentine give persuasive performances, pitching well the impulsiveness and impetuosity of star-crossed lovers. Even if you don’t know the outcome, you get the sense of impending tragedy. Alec Boaden, as Callum’s brother Jude, is thuggish and menacing, while Richard Riddell as their father wraps his iron fist in a protective glove which, while allowing some sympathy, doesn’t condone the family’s violent drive for insurrection. Meanwhile, Sephy’s parents are portrayed more simplistically, leaning into caricature.

There is limited emotional engagement, even though it is very watchable with some great flourishes of style. Cooke has managed to keep it relevant and up to date while throwing in some subtle parallels with Shakespeare. A pseudo balcony scene is neatly hemmed in, and touches of comedy provide much needed comic relief. Even, in the bard’s true fashion, the climax seems rushed with seemingly last-minute knots being tied up. The message remains unresolved, but the ideas that pave the way are a dynamic and potent series of stepping stones. The journey is made less perilous, though, by the overstated delivery. It is the perfect show, however, to draw in a new, younger audience and it is certainly a triumph in demonstrating the raw power and necessity of theatre.

Tag Archives: Richard Riddell

THE BFG

★★★★

Chichester Festival Theatre

THE BFG

Chichester Festival Theatre

★★★★

“a production designed to entertain while celebrating imagination, dreams and friendship”