“….Dreams is full of mystery and magic…”

Theatre Porto has been transformed into a wonder-filled land of good dreams, greedy giants and even the Queen of England for Disley Theatrical Productions version of Roald Dahl’s children’s tale ‘The BFG’.

As the tale begins, we are instantly drawn into the story, and it’s not long before the BFG and Sophie embark upon all sorts of exciting adventures, becoming best friends in the process.  The play tells the story of how the BFG and Sophie team up to save the children of England from the child-eating giants Bloodbottler, Fleshlumpeater, Bonecruncher, Meatdripper, Childchewer and Gizzardgulper. They are assisted by the Queen of England and the Heads of the Army and Airforce with their helicopters.

The production was directed for Disley Theatrical Productions by Theatre Porto’s associate director Phil Cross.  Phil, who has previously directed other Roald Dahl tales such as ‘The Witches’ and ‘The Twits’ has ingeniously crafted the BFG to make it that extra bit special.  It is one of the cleverest, most precise productions I’ve seen for a long time.

Phil cleverly incorporates shadows to give the illusion of scale – and the rescue scene in Act 2 is utterly brilliant!  I dread to think of the hours of rehearsals it took to craft that, but please be assured it was worth every second!

Elle Moulson played, with a beautiful innocence, the part of Sophie.  She skilfully accompanied her performance with a hand puppet.  It soon became the puppet that the audience became focused on, enhanced by the tenderness of Elle’s own movements.  Seb Farrell playing the BFG had the right level of sensitivity for a misunderstood giant, and the children in the audience were behind him from his first scene.  He gave a proficient delivery of the BFG’s Gobblefunk language.

The set and props inventively and expertly enhance the magic with clever touches; a magnificent dream cupboard full of dream bottles, a bed skilfully used for various scenes, UV lighting, neon cables, torchlight effects, beautiful textiles, and many more.  The facial expressions and choreography of the giants were impressive, but the aspect that impressed me the most was the cardboard hands and faces.  They could easily have been an experience created in a child’s playroom, which added an authenticity to the plot.  Perhaps the effect getting the biggest gasp of awe on opening night was the huge BFG that arrived to eat breakfast at Buckingham Palace.

Many clever special effects were used, and I soon realised I was being swept along on a journey of imagination that all ages within the audience, were totally transfixed by.  The BFG’s dreams came from bottles full of light which he blew with a giant trumpet into the ears of snoozing children and eventually, of the Queen of England, who saved the day by sending the Army and Air Force in to capture the bad, child-eating giants. Amy Jones made the most fantastic queen, helped along by a comedy duo of Mary the Maid and Mr Tibbs the Butler.

Roald Dahl holds such a special place in the imaginations of so many, and it was an absolute privilege to watch this precise, childishly fun and exceptionally well-executed story of Sophie and her friendship with the BFG.

If you see one piece of theatre this year, this MUST be it!

The BFG runs until Sat 24th Feb

https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/disleytheatricalproductions

Thanks to Fiona for the review

Pic: Mark Carline