Written for children by Roald Dahl in 1961, James and the Giant Peach is a greatly loved book that has been variously adapted for television and the cinema, and is also a well-known play and a musical. The original novel has recently attracted criticism, being described as macabre and frightening, as well as having magical and potentially hallucinatory references that could be seen as harmful to children. Puffin Books responded to book bans and criticism of the novel by controversially deciding to change key wording in 2023, which conversely brought a raft of support for the author.
Meanwhile, as a work of fiction and imagination, James and the Giant Peach aptly demonstrates the good and the bad in the world. Cruelty and evil are balanced alongside resilience and the importance of friendship and courage with a proverbial happy ending.
It tells the story of a young boy, James Henry Trotter, whose parents are killed in a horrible accident, forcing him to go and live with his two cruel aunts, Sponge and Spiker. His unhappy world changes when he meets a man who gives him a bag of magic crocodile tongues. James drops the bag and the contents find their way into the nearest tree, bringing it back to life with a peach that just continues to grow until it is the size of a house. James enters the peach through a hole and finds a group of insects who quickly become his friends. The peach then becomes the start of some magical and highly imaginative adventures.
Shake & Stir’s new adaptation and production follows in the footsteps of its previous Dahl works, The Twits, Fantastic Mr Fox and George’s Marvellous Medicine. This adaptation by Nelle Lee, directed by Ross Balbuziente, offers an updated and dynamic production with a marvellous visual feast of imagery that is as clever as it is effective in bringing this epic story to life. Keeping faithfully to the original book, the production opens with a bright and colourful front cloth denoting the title of the show, brought alive with moving lights. This is followed by a catchy song, ‘James, the Man of the Moment’, which places our hero front and centre, and helps to sets the stage for an action packed 60-minute show.
A clever stage design by Josh McIntosh makes good use of internal spaces and includes cut-out doors and windows to great effect. Layered staging with a central curved walkway imaginatively utilises a diverse range of projected imagery and backcloths, often enhanced with animated figures. This extraordinary work by video designer and programmer, Craig Wilkinson, produces a non-stop vista of images of the countryside, trees and houses, the giant peach, seagulls and sharks, sea, sky, rain and Cloud Men and, finally, the skyscrapers of New York, much in the style of the original artwork by Quentin Blake.
A few really memorable digital images include the tree with its peach growing and taking over the house. Additionally, some glorious images of the Earthworm encased in the peach being offered up to the seagulls, while the threads from the Spider’s web are hooked to the seagulls’ necks so that the peach can fly, were first-rate.
Wilkinson, along with Jake Lodder, has also created some exceptional animation, while video projects company optikal bloc produced the videos. The whole production is lit with much imagination and attention to detail by Jason Glenwright, and there’s an excellent soundscape of noises and sounds from composer and sound designer Guy Webster. The show features a number of fairly unmemorable, poorly delivered songs; the standout being the aforementioned ‘James, the Man of the Moment’.
Will Carseldine makes a fine and highly believable James, telling his story in his soliloquies to the audience with perfectly clear diction. His ability to rise above adversity, find courage and leadership skills, and make friends, makes him the inspirational character from the book.
It is a pity though that the first-rate production values and exceptional design and digital imagery are not matched by the spoken word or by character development in many of the other roles. The direction here seem sadly lacking and weak, perhaps under-rehearsed or relying just on the visuals. Some characters are simply not rounded out sufficiently, appearing to be cardboard cut-out figures or caricatures. The evil aunts, Sponge and Spiker, are a case in point.
Dressed in garish black and white, 60s-styled outfits, they appear as pantomime dames, played simply for laughs – though they are not in the least funny. It is almost impossible to understand their text or the words of the songs they sing, in part because of strange undecipherable Cockney accents. These characters seem to go right over the heads of the younger members of the audience.
The four insects in the peach (Earthworm, Centipede, Spider and Grasshopper) would have benefited from more appropriately designed costumes and matching physicality, while their various accents are a mixed bunch. Tim Carroll’s Earthworm is the strongest and most clear-cut character with good diction.
Jeremiah Wray’s Centipede copes well with his northern accent and he has some great lines. It is difficult to understand Ellen Bailey’s Spider, while Sarah McIntosh’s Irish-voiced Grasshopper is indistinct. One wonders why the decision was made to give these characters a range of British accents, especially for a show designed for a young audience.
With a few exceptions, the journey in the peach is mostly taken at a breakneck speed by the actors, full of energy and action, but mostly losing the narrative with a reliance on the visuals to show what is happening. When this reviewer attended, children started to lose interest and chatter at this point, though interesting sounds and imagery did appear to drag them back.
Perhaps some judicious cutting in the adaptation may have given some clarity. The scene that brings together visuals, actors and narrative best is the final one in New York City, which is witty, fun and enjoyed by adults and children alike.
Read: Book review: Whenever You’re Ready, Trish Bolton
Shake & Stir Theatre Co is renowned for its reinvention of children’s classics and, while this production is magically splendid, the core theatrical narrative of imparting the story truthfully is disappointing. Matching the visuals with an equally impressive delivery and narrative would have produced a more rounded and polished show.
James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl, adapted by Nelle Lee
QPAC and Shake & Stir Theatre Co
Playhouse, QPAC
Director: Ross Balbuziente
Creative Producer: Nick Skubij
Designer: Josh McIntosh
Lighting Designer: Jason Glenwright
Composer and Sound Designer: Guy Webster
Video Designer and Programmer Craig Wilkinson
Video Production: optikal bloc
Animators: Craig Wilkinson and Jake Lodder
Illustrator: Jon Weber
Choreographer: Dan Venz
Cast: Ellen Bailey, Tim Carroll, Will Carseldine, Sarah McIntosh and Jeremiah Wray
Tickets: $49-$59
James and the Giant Peach runs until Sunday 7 April 2024.
