When Roald Dahl was eight years old, he was caned by his headmaster for putting a dead mouse in a jar of gobstoppers. Such were the whimsical pursuits that went into the making of one of England’s most prolific authors. Dahl’s books build childlike fantasies that have dark undertones. Take, for instance, The BFG (1982). It follows Sophie, an orphan who is stolen from her bed by the titular Big Friendly Giant; together they work to capture the more sinister giants who want to eat all the orphans. The book has now been adapted into a play at the Royal Shakespeare Company, helmed by the co-artistic director Daniel Evans. —Maggie Turner