The Royal Shakespeare Company, in collaboration with Chichester Festival Theatre and the Roald Dahl Story Company, has announced that John Leader will take on the iconic role of The BFG in a brand-new stage adaptation by Tom Wells.
The production opens at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon on 25 November 2025, running through to 31 January 2026, before transferring to Chichester Festival Theatre from 9 March to 11 April 2026.
John Leader, who trained at Stratford College and grew up in Birmingham, returns to the RSC following appearances in The Merry Wives of Windsor and The School for Scandal in 2024.
“I’m absolutely thrilled to be playing such an iconic character who means so much to so many people,” said John. “Everyone has their own picture of the BFG, so it’s really exciting (and a bit surreal!) to help bring him to life on stage. It’s a real joy to be collaborating with Daniel and such a talented team of creatives on this story, and I can’t wait for audiences to experience it. Having grown up in Birmingham and trained at Stratford College, coming back to the RSC for a role like this honestly feels very special – a real full-circle moment.”
Director and RSC Co-Artistic Director Daniel Evans added: “Finding the actor to play our eponymous hero, BFG, has been a giant undertaking in so many ways. We knew that this crucial bit of casting was an essential piece of the puzzle. After all, it is the BFG, alongside Sophie and The Queen, who are the main trio of our story. Through each other’s friendship and allyship, they find the imagination and the strength to defeat the human-guzzling giants and save children everywhere.
John Leader brings immense warmth, generosity and humility to the role – all essential qualities for our BFG. He also has a gleaming and vivid imagination. John will be working alongside a highly skilled team of puppeteers as part of a cast of eighteen, to bring Tom Wells’ magical new script to the stage and we look forward to sharing more exciting casting news within the coming weeks.”
The BFG follows the story of young orphan Sophie, who is whisked away to Giant Country by a dream-catching, snozzcumber-munching giant who refuses to eat humans.
Together, they hatch a plan to stop the other giants from gobbling up children around the world, proving that even the smallest human bean and the gentlest giant can change the world.
The creative team includes Puppetry Designer and Director Toby Olié, Set Designer Vicki Mortimer, Costume Designer Kinnetia Isidore, Lighting Designer Zoe Spurr, and Video Designer Akhila Krishnan.
Also on board are Illusions by Chris Fisher, Composition by Oleta Haffner, Sound Design by Carolyn Downing, and Choreography and Movement Direction by Ira Mandela Siobhan.
Puppetry Co-Designer is Daisy Beattie, with Matt Hellyer as Senior Set Design Associate. Casting is by Christopher Worrall CDG, with children’s casting by Verity Naughton CDG.
Listings and ticket information can be found here.
