The BFG was one of Dahl’s books to have been amended in 2023 in a bid to make them more suitable for modern audiences.
For example, the line: “You’ve gone white as a sheet!” has now been rewritten to “you’ve gone still as a statue!” and the friendly giant no longer wears a “black” cloak.
Across Dahl’s novels, words including “fat” and “ugly” were removed after being reviewed by sensitivity readers, who check for potentially offensive content.
Speaking about the changes, Evans said “it’s almost irrelevant in theatre”.
“The text will be adapted by the playwright who will have a certain vision of how the characters should be presented and the story they want to tell. It might be that the language is changed entirely or even those scenes are cut.”
The BFG will be adapted for the stage by playwright Tom Wells whose work includes Broken Biscuits, The Kitchen Sink and Me, As A Penguin.
According to YouGov, The BFG is the 10th most popular children and young adult fiction book and has sold over 21 million copies globally.
The book has previously been adapted for the 2016 fantasy adventure film which was directed and co-produced by Steven Spielberg and starred Sir Mark Rylance as the BFG and Ruby Barnhill as Sophie.
