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The BFG: Plays for Children
With useful tips on staging, props, and costumes, this play can be produced with a minimum amount of resources and experience.
128 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 1991
65 people are currently reading
2067 people want to read
About the author
David Wood
286 books41 followersDAVID WOOD began writing as a student at Oxford University in the sixties.
He wrote his first play for children in 1967 and has since written over sixty more.
They are performed all over the world and include THE GINGERBREAD MAN (nine London seasons), THE OWL AND THE PUSSYCAT WENT TO SEE... (six London seasons, co-written with Sheila Ruskin), THE SELFISH SHELLFISH, THE SEE-SAW TREE, SAVE THE HUMAN (from the story he wrote with cartoonist Tony Husband), THE IDEAL GNOME EXPEDITION and THE PLOTTERS OF CABBAGE PATCH CORNER.
His stage adaptations of well-known books include Dick King-Smith's BABE THE SHEEP-PIG, Roald Dahl's THE BFG and THE WITCHES (both of which played long tours and two West End seasons), THE TWITS, JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH and FANTASTIC MR FOX, DANNY THE CHAMPION OF THE WORLD and GEORGE’S MARVELLOUS MEDICINE, HRH The Prince of Wales' THE OLD MAN OF LOCHNAGAR, Michael Foreman's DINOSAURS AND ALL THAT RUBBISH, Helen Nicoll and Jan Pienkowski's MEG AND MOG SHOW (five London seasons for Unicorn Theatre), Philippa Pearce's TOM'S MIDNIGHT GARDEN (which Unicorn Theatre played on tour, in the West End and on Broadway) and Judith Kerr’s THE TIGER WHO CAME TO TEA.
He was dubbed 'the national children's dramatist' by Irving Wardle in The Times and published, to rave reviews, THEATRE FOR CHILDREN: GUIDE TO WRITING, ADAPTING, DIRECTING AND ACTING (Faber), co-written with Janet Grant, which has become required reading on the subject in the UK and the US, and is now published in China.
He directed many of his plays for his own company, Whirligig Theatre (founded with John Gould in 1979), which for 25 years toured to major theatres nationwide include Sadler's Wells in London.
Film screenplays include SWALLOWS AND AMAZONS and BACK HOME, which won a gold award at the New York Film and TV Festival 1991. Writing for television includes the series CHIPS' COMIC, CHISH 'N' FIPS and THE GINGERBREAD MAN; and TIDE RACE, his filmed drama for Central Television and the European Broadcasting Union, has won several international awards.
For BBC Radio 4 he adapted Arthur Ransome's SWALLOWS AND AMAZONS.
He also writes children's books; with Richard Fowler he has co-created novelty books including BEDTIME STORY, MOLE'S SUMMER STORY, MOLE'S WINTER STORY, SILLY SPIDER, THE MAGIC SHOW, FUNNY BUNNY'S MAGIC SHOW and THE TOY CUPBOARD. He wrote THE PHANTOM CAT OF THE OPERA (illustrated by Peters Day).
David Wood has followed a parallel career as an actor, best remembered as Johnny in Lindsay Anderson's cult film IF... He is married to Jacqueline Stanbury; they have two grown-up daughters, Katherine and Rebecca.
In 2004 he was awarded an OBE for services to literature and drama in the Queen's birthday honours.
In 2006 he wrote THE QUEEN’S HANDBAG, a play to celebrate the Queen’s 80th birthday. It was performed by an all-star cast in Buckingham Palace Gardens at the Children’s Party at the Palace, and seen live on BBC 1 by 8,000,000 television viewers.
from http://www.davidwood.org.uk/all_about...
He wrote his first play for children in 1967 and has since written over sixty more.
They are performed all over the world and include THE GINGERBREAD MAN (nine London seasons), THE OWL AND THE PUSSYCAT WENT TO SEE... (six London seasons, co-written with Sheila Ruskin), THE SELFISH SHELLFISH, THE SEE-SAW TREE, SAVE THE HUMAN (from the story he wrote with cartoonist Tony Husband), THE IDEAL GNOME EXPEDITION and THE PLOTTERS OF CABBAGE PATCH CORNER.
His stage adaptations of well-known books include Dick King-Smith's BABE THE SHEEP-PIG, Roald Dahl's THE BFG and THE WITCHES (both of which played long tours and two West End seasons), THE TWITS, JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH and FANTASTIC MR FOX, DANNY THE CHAMPION OF THE WORLD and GEORGE’S MARVELLOUS MEDICINE, HRH The Prince of Wales' THE OLD MAN OF LOCHNAGAR, Michael Foreman's DINOSAURS AND ALL THAT RUBBISH, Helen Nicoll and Jan Pienkowski's MEG AND MOG SHOW (five London seasons for Unicorn Theatre), Philippa Pearce's TOM'S MIDNIGHT GARDEN (which Unicorn Theatre played on tour, in the West End and on Broadway) and Judith Kerr’s THE TIGER WHO CAME TO TEA.
He was dubbed 'the national children's dramatist' by Irving Wardle in The Times and published, to rave reviews, THEATRE FOR CHILDREN: GUIDE TO WRITING, ADAPTING, DIRECTING AND ACTING (Faber), co-written with Janet Grant, which has become required reading on the subject in the UK and the US, and is now published in China.
He directed many of his plays for his own company, Whirligig Theatre (founded with John Gould in 1979), which for 25 years toured to major theatres nationwide include Sadler's Wells in London.
Film screenplays include SWALLOWS AND AMAZONS and BACK HOME, which won a gold award at the New York Film and TV Festival 1991. Writing for television includes the series CHIPS' COMIC, CHISH 'N' FIPS and THE GINGERBREAD MAN; and TIDE RACE, his filmed drama for Central Television and the European Broadcasting Union, has won several international awards.
For BBC Radio 4 he adapted Arthur Ransome's SWALLOWS AND AMAZONS.
He also writes children's books; with Richard Fowler he has co-created novelty books including BEDTIME STORY, MOLE'S SUMMER STORY, MOLE'S WINTER STORY, SILLY SPIDER, THE MAGIC SHOW, FUNNY BUNNY'S MAGIC SHOW and THE TOY CUPBOARD. He wrote THE PHANTOM CAT OF THE OPERA (illustrated by Peters Day).
David Wood has followed a parallel career as an actor, best remembered as Johnny in Lindsay Anderson's cult film IF... He is married to Jacqueline Stanbury; they have two grown-up daughters, Katherine and Rebecca.
In 2004 he was awarded an OBE for services to literature and drama in the Queen's birthday honours.
In 2006 he wrote THE QUEEN’S HANDBAG, a play to celebrate the Queen’s 80th birthday. It was performed by an all-star cast in Buckingham Palace Gardens at the Children’s Party at the Palace, and seen live on BBC 1 by 8,000,000 television viewers.
from http://www.davidwood.org.uk/all_about...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 107 reviews
February 2, 2010
Meet Sophie: a young girl whose parents died when she was a baby. Meet the BFG: A big friendly giant, who refuses to eat little children with the other big mean giants. One night, Sophie is watching out her window and she spots the BFG! He sees her watching him and snatches her from her bed and takes her to his cave. After talking for a while, they become best friends. They work together to try and save the children of the world from the other big, mean giants who eat little "chiddlers". Will they succeed???
I can connect this book to the world. I can make this connection because every day, people protest against things that they think is wrong. Sometimes those things actually are wrong, and sometimes those people are just ignorant butt-heads. Sophie and the BFG are fighting against the big, mean giants who eat kids. Other groups protest against animal torture or types of stuff taught in school.
I gave this book four stars because (although i really liked the story) it was a really easy read. I was thinking of maybe getting a bunch of my friends together and acting out a different scene every week for little kids and for community service, which some of my friends think is cools :) . I recommend this book to Roald Dahl fans, actors, and people who like reading scripts better than actual books.
March 21, 2020
This is one of my favorite authors of all time
August 31, 2020
قصة رائعة
لماذا لا يلج الروائين العرب قصص الخيال للاطفال؟ لما لا نعيد قصص السندباد و البساط السحري و علاء الدين والمصباح السحري؟
هل نضب الخيال العربي ام ماذا؟
اليس من الخطر ان اطفالنا يقرؤون فقط القصص الاجنبية للقراءة
July 16, 2022
Ja jsem realne zapomněla dat tuhle ikonu do read
May 29, 2017
A reread. Love it.
Read
April 23, 2020GREAT!
July 16, 2022
Read aloud to my students at the end of the year and they loved loved loved it :)
February 12, 2023
This was such a fun, easy read for my Children’s Theatre class! All the plays were very creative and I loved how it provided details on the characters, setting, and props.
May 30, 2024
It was a heart warming story, I liked it
February 20, 2020
it is a good book
December 9, 2016
Roald Dahl you did it again a fantastic book about what you say well let you dreams come true.
Sophie is one lucky girl she got to she a giant but what kind of giant was it mean, mad, sad ,ugly, nasty, no it was the B.F.G., The Big Friendly Giant. Sophie goes on an amazing adventure with The B.F.G including seeing the other mean giants. Sophie and The B.F.G also got to meet the queen of the UK. The queen helps them get rid of the mean old giants but there is a little problem. To find out what The B.F.G and Sophie go through you will have to read the book to find out what an amazing adventure they have together
-JAELYN :)
Sophie is one lucky girl she got to she a giant but what kind of giant was it mean, mad, sad ,ugly, nasty, no it was the B.F.G., The Big Friendly Giant. Sophie goes on an amazing adventure with The B.F.G including seeing the other mean giants. Sophie and The B.F.G also got to meet the queen of the UK. The queen helps them get rid of the mean old giants but there is a little problem. To find out what The B.F.G and Sophie go through you will have to read the book to find out what an amazing adventure they have together
-JAELYN :)
March 30, 2024
It was amazing! I loved the story line and the writing I totally recommend.
February 1, 2019
The Big Friendly Giant.
3,5🌟, but I'm sure I would have given it at least 4 🌟 if I were a child:))
Insightful. Funny. Charming.
The whole book seems to be a metaphor to me. All the children in the world have their monsters and their nightmares, but they also have beautiful dreams and wonderful friends. That's childhood and BFG is certainly one of those wonderful friends. He is a hero to all the children in the world. He is like a father, not just for Sophie, but for children in general. He is selfless, wise, patient, caring and brave. He makes the children dream and gives them wings. Sophie, a poor orphan, comes to meet and befriend him. Couldn't any child do the same? The whole idea of it is just magical.
When I found out how exactly the book included the queen I thought this is so funny - to include the queen of England in a children's book as a friend of Sophie's and of BFG's! This makes it even more plausible! But the most stunningly believable moment in the book - the one that brings uncertainty and makes you wonder ''Had this actually happened?'' - is the last page, when it is said that BFG is the actual author. This genuinely brings the uncertain, ambiguous character of the fantastic literature.
I admit there were things that disturbed me, but I think they belong to the childish aspect of the book. This is, of course, a children's book and children's adorable selfishness and absurdity must be found here - for example in the fact that it is said to be funny that the other giants are in pain; the fact that, at first, BFG actually kidnaps Sophie and wants to keep her there forever; in the way BFG speaks to the commanders. But I'm not that radical. I understand that all these things are meant to be entertaining and adventurous and I bet children really had fun! I am not going to lie. As a teenager, I had fun too! Or, better said, my inner child had fun!
I liked BFG, as I said, and I also really liked Sophie - so bright for her age, so kind and curious! I'd think that Sophie is the one every child wants to be like and that BFG is the hero every child wants to meet!
My favourite parts of the book were those about dreams! About finding them, preparing them and delivering them! The passion BFG has regarding them. A lonely giant spreading dreams to children all around the world, forcing himself not to eat them because of his love for humans. This idea. This idea is fantastic.
Reading this book made me smile. It brought me hope and positive energy!
I want to thank Lia, my nine-year-old sister who persuaded me to read it! ❤️
3,5🌟, but I'm sure I would have given it at least 4 🌟 if I were a child:))
Insightful. Funny. Charming.
The whole book seems to be a metaphor to me. All the children in the world have their monsters and their nightmares, but they also have beautiful dreams and wonderful friends. That's childhood and BFG is certainly one of those wonderful friends. He is a hero to all the children in the world. He is like a father, not just for Sophie, but for children in general. He is selfless, wise, patient, caring and brave. He makes the children dream and gives them wings. Sophie, a poor orphan, comes to meet and befriend him. Couldn't any child do the same? The whole idea of it is just magical.
When I found out how exactly the book included the queen I thought this is so funny - to include the queen of England in a children's book as a friend of Sophie's and of BFG's! This makes it even more plausible! But the most stunningly believable moment in the book - the one that brings uncertainty and makes you wonder ''Had this actually happened?'' - is the last page, when it is said that BFG is the actual author. This genuinely brings the uncertain, ambiguous character of the fantastic literature.
I admit there were things that disturbed me, but I think they belong to the childish aspect of the book. This is, of course, a children's book and children's adorable selfishness and absurdity must be found here - for example in the fact that it is said to be funny that the other giants are in pain; the fact that, at first, BFG actually kidnaps Sophie and wants to keep her there forever; in the way BFG speaks to the commanders. But I'm not that radical. I understand that all these things are meant to be entertaining and adventurous and I bet children really had fun! I am not going to lie. As a teenager, I had fun too! Or, better said, my inner child had fun!
I liked BFG, as I said, and I also really liked Sophie - so bright for her age, so kind and curious! I'd think that Sophie is the one every child wants to be like and that BFG is the hero every child wants to meet!
My favourite parts of the book were those about dreams! About finding them, preparing them and delivering them! The passion BFG has regarding them. A lonely giant spreading dreams to children all around the world, forcing himself not to eat them because of his love for humans. This idea. This idea is fantastic.
Reading this book made me smile. It brought me hope and positive energy!
I want to thank Lia, my nine-year-old sister who persuaded me to read it! ❤️
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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September 9, 2024The ‘BFG’ by Roald Dahl was publish in 1982, this book explores the theme of the power of friendship, through the characters personality and mindset. The novel starts with a girl name Sophie, and it shows her orphanage in England and one night she notices a big giant sneaking through the streets. The giant takes Sophie to a ‘Giants country’ and the ‘Giants country’ is like a desert-like place where mean giants live.
Sophie and her new friend (the giant) find out that the big mean giants find her little blanket, and now the mean giants are looking for her without having a rest. When the giants cannot find Sophie, they finally believe the nice giant and they all take a rest. When the nice giant checks every single mean giant to see if they are asleep, Sophie and the giant quickly leave and go back to the giant’s house.
In the end Sophie finds a safe place with the Queen under Mary’s care, when everything went right for Sophie and the giant, they both live next to each other next to the Queen.
Sophie and her new friend (the giant) find out that the big mean giants find her little blanket, and now the mean giants are looking for her without having a rest. When the giants cannot find Sophie, they finally believe the nice giant and they all take a rest. When the nice giant checks every single mean giant to see if they are asleep, Sophie and the giant quickly leave and go back to the giant’s house.
In the end Sophie finds a safe place with the Queen under Mary’s care, when everything went right for Sophie and the giant, they both live next to each other next to the Queen.
January 7, 2019
“ The BFG” written by Roald Dahl, talks about a girl called Sophie met a giant, he’s not a bad giant as the other giants. At the beginning, it talks about one night in the orphanage, Sophie couldn’t slept. She waited at the window and she met the giant, the giant brought her away to his house but he didn’t harms her. In the middle of the story, that the other giants seems they knew there was a person, and they eat humans. Sophie and the good heart giant went away trying to flee. But it’s not a good plan to just ran away. So in the end of the story, Sophie had a plan, she let the good heart giant brought a nightmare to the queen of England talked about the giants destroying the place. Finally, their plan did work, the queen of England let the soldiers went to get the giants away, the good heart giant stayed with Sophie and they’re very good friends.
June 14, 2024
BFG
THE BIG FRIENDLY GIANT
I am doing a deep book review of The Big Friendly Giant by Rol Dal
This book is about a BIG FRIENDLY GIANT and sofies hero's journey together.
The reason that I chose this book? Is because it is a very classic book and I forgot the story so I wanted to read it again
How has this book changed me? It inspired me to do big things, to be determined, and to work hard
The part that stood out to me. is the finale shoe down when they are capturing the man-eating joints and bring them to Paris and put them in a hole
I recommend this book to people who like books with a good hero's journey and an intriguing, inspiring, and funny book.
Do you have any questions?
September 30, 2021
So there is a girl named Sophie and her parents died before she was born. She is not sad about her parents dead because she never met them. But she does have to go to a orphanage which is like a foster home. While she was there in the middle of the night other Giants besides the BFG would soon be having breakfast what they eat for breakfast is nice little chiddlers. So her and the BFG are trying to help stop them!
February 17, 2024
I really enjoyed this book even though in parts of the book it was a little upsetting a little girl called Sophie was taken from an orphanage in the middle of the night by the big friendly Giant also Sophie was taken to Giant County and also got to go to Buckingham place and met the Queen after the Bfg invented a horrible nightmare dream and blow it through the Queen's bedroom window while she was asleep.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 28, 2022
In my opinion, this is Roald Dahl's best work! I felt that the narration wasn't as light-hearted as usual, but this book definitely made me smile!
My rating: 5 stars.
3 stars for the characters.
2 stars for everything else.
P.S: I read the novel, NOT the set of plays.
My rating: 5 stars.
3 stars for the characters.
2 stars for everything else.
P.S: I read the novel, NOT the set of plays.
December 15, 2023
one of my favorites. A wonderful story about friendship. ive re read it multiple times since it positively impacted me as a kid. (it has a movie too btw which is perfect to watch if paired w hot chocolate and a friend(optional))
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February 26, 2017It rock's
January 28, 2019
Very nice and interesting story
Giants can come in all shapes and sizes
some are nasty, scary and cruel
other are nice, friendly and polite
Giants can come in all shapes and sizes
some are nasty, scary and cruel
other are nice, friendly and polite
June 17, 2019
It was true mr. Roald Dahl dreams do come true! It is creatively narrated, not a dull second had passed while i was reading.
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January 8, 2020this book took a while to read because I started it but I could not finish until the other day cause i got busy faster then I thought
February 14, 2020
My 5-year old loves this book so much, I had to reread certain chapters!
April 26, 2020
I loved this book. I loved the words and could just imagine a GIANT saying these words. There were many sweet moments and a great friendship made.
August 11, 2020
Cute. Bit of a tongue-twister to read aloud to one's child (I know Roald Dahl likes to play with language, but I think this one has more of it than most. Still, my son and I both enjoyed.
December 8, 2020
Classic book on friendship and how it can appear anywhere, any time. No matter how different, a friendship is priceless.
April 22, 2021
Nice for various literacy uses. Used in grade four for reading fluency and also compared and contrasted to the novel.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 107 reviews