Roald Dahl's tales hijack the imagination, transporting you into a child's world where larger-than-life characters bubble and plot away.

Recreating his unique blend of the absurd and the mundane can be a challenge - one The Birmingham Stage Company tackles with relish.

The stunning set is dominated by Danny and his poacher father's caravan - a rotating affair that swivels between a cosy, homely interior and the ramshackle clap-boarded outside.

Beautifully crafted cars, from some indefinable time between the Forties and now, are driven on, off and around the stage to the acoustic accompaniment of this versatile cast.

"Poaching is an art," Danny's dad tells him, graphically illustrating the inventive and delightful methods his own father once employed to lure the obnoxious landowner Mr Hazel's pheasants into the pot.

Aided by the good-natured complicity of the locals - from the upstanding, welly-wearing, tweed-clad Dr Spencer to the central-casting Sergeant Samways - Danny and his dad outwit Mr Hazel and his cronies with some enthusiastic help from a willing audience.

Rarely have I enjoyed a children's play as much. The finale, with the whole ensemble lined up with assorted instruments in tow, leaves you feeling, much like Danny, on top of the world.

THE AUDIENCE SAYS...

  • "Danny The Champion Of The World is one of my favourite books and it was brilliant to see it come to life on the stage.

"The scenery is really excellent and just how I imagined it. The show is very funny.

"Danny and his dad tell jokes all the time and it was also good when they asked the audience to join in as the beaters'.

"I went with my dad and he loved it too. He thought the pheasant puppets were the best."

- Jacob Whiting, age 10

  • "I mainly liked the little blue car, because it could move!

"But it was all very amusing. My favourite character was Danny."

- Edward Gerwat, age 10

  • "Danny The Champion Of The World was extremely funny.

"I thought that it followed the story line very well and included some lovely extras like getting the audience to join in.

"My favourite bit was when the pheasants dropped from the trees."

- Freya Thorpe, age 10

  • "It was very funny. My best bit was the teacher in the school.

"My favourite character was Danny."

- Justin Thorpe, age 7

  • "It was playful, interactive and brilliant. We loved the moving scenery.

"Having a live band added to the play but sometimes it got in the way.

"We liked that the audience were involved. It was loads of fun and definitely worth going to see."

- Jack Wait (age 14) and George Wait (age 11)