Staging Roald Dahl’s giant thriller is a tall order for any human bean, but David Wood’s 17-year-old adaptation copes amusingly with the problems of scale and the fevered expectations of the average BFG fan. The Polka’s version of the show has been tweaked a little, and the famous Dahlian excess has been somewhat tempered in this particular translation.
Judicious use of puppets and gargantuan bodysuits address the scale issues. Sophie, the little girl who meets a Big Friendly Giant on his nightly dream-inducing perambulations, is played by a petite actress (Susan Harrison) who manipulates a scaled-down version of herself to be used in all exchanges with her lofty friend. The vegetarian BFG is played by a tall man (Tim Barlow), who is only diminished when he’s being bullied by his fellow giants – the flesheaters. This is how it is in the land of the giants, where a simply appointed BFG cave sets the scene for twinkly dreams or the rampaging of the carnivorous colossians – Fleshlumpeater, Gizzardgulper, Bloodbottler, Bonecruncher and Meatdripper, played by members of the cast sporting slavering masks and warty torsos. These marauders provide the thrills, the demure Sophie describes the spills, but Barlow's BFG, though avuncular, seems non-committal. Instead of revelling in the famous vocabulary – swizzfuggle, whoppsy, whizzpopper and the rest – his delivery is low key.
The comedy starts with a change of perspective in the very human world of Buckingham Palace. Released from their giant suits Erika Poole and Manjeet Mann are a comic triumph as the Queen and her maid. The BFG’s role, reduced to an amplified disembodied voice and a giant pair of feet, has more scope for excitement and the resolution bowls along in an endearingly sketchy fashion, with shadow puppetry coming to the rescue when push comes to giant shove.
