Fantastic Mr Fox written by the children’s storyteller Roald Dahl was published in 1970 and has been adapted for opera, film and theatre. The book has been adapted into a play by Sally Reid which features the same characters and story plot. Fantastic Mr Fox is a fun and warm story about family, morals and the environment with important messages being portrayed to Dahls younger readers.

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My intention is to create a theatre adaptation of Roald Dahl’s well-known children’s novel using the play by Sally Reid. Set in the 1970’s during autumn, the play will represent the beauty of the English countryside where Dahl envisioned the characters living. The aim of the production is to create a stylish and comforting production that presents the cosiness of autumn as well as the iconic 1970’s. The characters will be explored more in depth to how they are described in the book alongside an autumnal colour palette with rich and warm textiles to create a cosy and soothing aesthetic. My intention is also to highlight the events that took place during the 1970’s, intertwining them with the setting and characters. The younger audience will be reminded of how many of the crucial political movements during the 1970s were the beginning of those still ongoing today.  

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For the setting of the play, it will be told from the fox’s perspective with the idea of size and scale being played with. The farms visited to by the woodland creatures will be seen from the animal’s point of view with the produce appearing larger. 1970’s supermarkets will be used as inspiration for the inside of the farms due to the farms offering an array of food choices for the animals. For the Foxes Burrow it will be heavily inspired by 1970’s interior to create a cosy and warm place for the foxes to live, further causing the audience to be just as distraught as the animals when it gets destroyed. Along with being inspired by the 1970’s, elements of the environment will show through in the burrow with mushrooms and moss existing on the floor and walls. The costumes will similarly be inspired by the environment to highlight the close relationship between the animals and nature. This will be shown through lichen, leaves and mushrooms on the costumes as well as the autumnal natural colour palette.  

 

Sustainability will be the focal point for the costumes with second-hand fabric being used for the majority of the costumes. My intention is to also combine sustainable techniques used during the 1970’s such as shirring and patchwork to further present the era the foxes live in. Each animal character will be subtly inspired by autumnal nature such as autumn berries, fungi and plants. Natural dyeing techniques will also allow the colours of the 1970’s to be captured but in a subtle natural way. The use of waste and plastic will be used for the character of the Rat, with him being in close contact with humans, he has become the most effected by humans’ toxic ways. Rat will dramatically represent human’s cruelty towards animals but also rats and some animals’ reliance on humans in order to survive. The Rat’s plastic and toxic costume will contrast with the rest of the characters, highlighting to the audience how litter and man-made products destroy the beauty of nature. 

 

Masks will be a critical costume feature used for the animals. The masks will be positioned above the head of the actor so that the actor’s emotions can still be portrayed, and the younger audience are able to connect to the characters. Masks however will not be used for the three farmers, who instead with the use of padding will be exaggerated versions of the characters mentioned in the book. The children in the audience should be able to distinguish between the farmers with their grotesque features being emphasised. As well as being inspired by hunting, the three farmers costumes will display the produce that are on their farms. The farmers will further portray the brutality of humans on the environment with elements of rot and toxicity appearing through textiles. Overall, the costumes within the play adaptation will focus on using what already exists to create a sustainable approach that is comforting as well as poignant and sends a message to the audience. 

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