James And The Giant Peach (2025)
by Roald Dahl, adapted by David Wood, music by John Trent Wallace
Performances: Thursday 17 to Sunday 20 and Thursday 24 to Saturday 26 July 2025, with matinees on 19, 20 and 26 July, Old Fire Station
Contents
Introduction
In this delightful stage adaptation, Roald Dahl’s classic tale is faithfully told by James himself, along with the insect characters – Miss Spider, Old Green Grasshopper, Centipede, Ladybird, and Earthworm.
Preview from the SLT website
What attracted you to directing James and the Giant Peach?
I like a challenge! And I love Roald Dahl’s work. James is such a great story – full of fun and magic and the most brilliant characters. Although I probably must have forgotten that it needs a rhinoceros, an octopus, shark attacks and, of course, a giant peach!
What do you think it is about Roald Dahl's work that makes it so appealing?
I think it’s that he makes real kids the heroes of his stories. That appeals to kids and the kids inside all of us. Then he creates wonderful, larger than life characters for his heroes to help or to overcome on their adventures. James is a prime example – with his insect friends and horrible aunts – we’re all cheering him on!
What do you think the music brings to this show?
Although it’s not a big West End-style musical, there are a handful of songs that bring music to Dahl’s rhymes. Music really helps drive the show on and helps tell the story.
What have been the fun parts and the challenges involved in directing it?
It has been a huge amount of fun. I have a very talented cast and crew who have thrown themselves into the characters (and a bit of singing and dancing!). Working with them has been a blast. There have been a couple of challenges. Some of Dahl’s ideas are a bit dated now and not how we would expect people to behave. So I’ve tried to make sure any bad behaviour isn’t rewarded! And a big challenge for the actors has been to imagine all the technical elements that only come to life when you get into the final stages.
Tell us about the characters we'll meet
James (Ed Smith) is our hero, who grows from a downtrodden little boy into a hero who leads his band of giant insects on an adventure to a new life across the ocean. His new friends are the resourceful Miss Spider (Hannah McCorry) proud Old Green Grasshopper (Tom Melly), caring Miss Ladybird (Lorna Reed), boastful Centipede (Tom Mathias) and downbeat Earthworm (Douglas Patterson). Along the way we meet lots of characters, including his horrible Aunts Sponge and Spiker, and even the crew of the HMS Queen Mary.
Describe the show in 3 words
Adventure, excitement and fun.
Cast
- Ed Smith - James and also Young James
- Tom Melly - Old Green Grasshopper and also Reporter
- Hannah McCorry - Miss Spider and also Tour Guide, Rhino, Cameraperson and Number 1
- Tom Mathias - Centipede and also Mr Trotter, Aunt Spiker and Ship's Captain
- Lorna Reed - Ladybird and also Mrs Trotter, Aunt Sponge and Number 2
- Dougal Patterson - Earthworm and also Rhino and Old Man
- The Youth Cast played American Tourists, English Tourists, Seagulls, Sharks and a variety of Underwater Creatures
- Youth Cast A - Ava Robertshaw, Layla Aljundi, Daniel Morell, Jamie Corcoran and Ruby Nice
- Youth Cast B - Huey Enkelmann, Erin Fielder, Elspeth Lewis, Eden Turner, Valentine Sirikander, Rebecca Munoz and Pearl Howard
Crew
- Assistant Directors - Greg Williams, Lee Ridgeway and Luke Gardner
- Stage Manager - Alistair Simpson
- Assistant Stage Manager - Rachael Lovegrove
- Lighting Designer - Jason Salmon
- Operator - Eleanor Walker
- Sound Designer - Adam Crook
- Set Designer - Graham Clements
- Scenic Artist - Carole Ironside
- Singing Coach - Alan Walker
- Choreography and Movement - Florence Henderson
- Costumes - Jo Boniface, Bex Law, Aurora McLaughlin-Gouldhacker and Carole Coyne
- Show Photography - Phil Gammon
- Set construction - Mark Ireson, Chris Purcell, Sean Thomas, Graham Clements, Dennis Fenton, Stephen Hayward, cast and crew
Reviews
If you haven't booked already because you think James and the Giant Peach is just for kids, do think again. This is a totally delightful show based on a Roald Dahl book so there's a fair bit of darkness and quirk in there as well as whimsy. The cast of six - playing James, his careless parents, terrible aunts and kindly insect friends, are terrific. And the music is great too, with excellent singing making the most of some great tunes.
Special peach cocktails have been procured for you to try out beforehand and in the interval. And the weather is cooler so why wouldn't you want to be having a fun time in the theatre.
Lisa Thomas
Due to an accident of history (or unadventurous parental choices of books) I never encountered James And The Giant Peach until now. What great fun! A tremendous ensemble have great fun with the story, creating fabulous larger than life characters and images and an amazing array of props and effects. My particular fave was the sharks, but there are hordes to choose from. It’s not just for kids!
Mark Ireson
Gallery
Reminiscences and Anecdotes
Members are encouraged to write about their experiences of working on or seeing this production. Please leave your name. Anonymous entries may be deleted.
See Also
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Or add anything that is related within this site. The author's page for instance or other plays with a similar theme.
