Published in 1988, filmed in 1996, and musicalized in 2010, Roald Dahl’s tale of a schoolgirl with both rebellious tendencies and telekinetic powers has now had more than 30 years to cast its spell over readers and audiences. If Matthew Warchus’ adaptation of the stage show he created with writer Dennis Kelly and composer Tim Minchin seems the least essential iteration to date, it’s still one that comes with oodles of charm – albeit of a kind likely to send anyone averse to precocious moppets sprinting for the nearest hill.
