"He was one of the very, very few adults who could go into the mind of a child."

That's what Roald Dahl's widow Felicity puts her late husband's tremendous success as a children's author down to.

Felicity was married to Roald from 1983, when he divorced his wife of 30 years Patricia Neal, until his death in 1990.

Since her husband's death at the age of 74 she has kept his name alive as the chairman of the company managing his literary estate.

Any new adaptations of Roald's work have to be run past her, from Tim Burton's version of Charlie And The Chocolate Factory (which she describes as an incredible film) to David Wood's adaptation of Danny The Champion Of The World, which visits Brighton next week.

"You have to be very careful who you give permission to," she says. "Once you have given it to that person you have to put your trust in them.

"Roald was never happy with adaptations of his work. It is very difficult for an author to accept them.

"Danny is wonderful though. I think Roald would have loved the play."

Danny The Champion Of The World was a special book for the family, as it reflected Roald's own relationship with his son Theo.

When he was four months old Theo was in a car accident which left him with the brain condition hydrocephalus - also known as water on the brain.

"Roald very much looked after Theo," says Felicity. "It was a wonderful relationship, which comes out in Danny. As it says, all parents should be sparky, and they are no good if they aren't."

The production by Birmingham Stage Company tells the story of Danny and his father, who live together in a gipsy caravan and run a small garage.

When evil landowner Mr Hazell starts trying to evict them, Danny hits on a plan to get his own back and ruin Hazell's pheasant shoot.

The caravan Danny and his father's home in the book is based on is now in the grounds of Roald's old home, wheeled out when the house opens up in summer for special events.

"So many children still think he is alive," says Felicity. "It is so sad but wonderful as he lives on through the work. We now have a Roald Dahl day (on September 13, Roald's birthday) which we hope will continue to be an annual celebration of his work.

"I think he quietly realised he had done something, but I think he would be amazed if he knew a museum was here in his name and a foundation was raising money for the charities he was involved in."

The Roald Dahl Foundation gives grants to help children in areas of literacy, neurology and haematology.

Its president is Roald's longtime collaborator, the illustrator Quentin Blake, whose almost childlike images added another manic dimension to Roald's work.

"They were amazing together," says Felicity. "I was so privileged to see them working together. They were the perfect combination."

Felicity also collaborated with her husband on The Roald Dahl Cookbook, giving parents a chance to recreate some of the weird and wonderful food creations in his books.

"He was a master craftsman at sentence construction. He always said you have to be grabbed by the throat by the first page of a book.

"Now grandparents are reading the Roald Dahl books they grew up with to their grandchildren - I think it is a wonderful thing."

  • Starts 7pm, with 10.30am shows Feb 6 and Feb 8 and a matinee at 2.30pm on Feb 9, tickets from £13/£12. Call 08700 606650