Following its acclaimed run at the Royal Court Theatre and three Olivier wins, Giant quickly became one of my most anticipated West End transfers. Marking the writing debut of Mark Rosenblatt (often seen in the director’s chair), was .
I was gifted a ticket in exchange for an honest review – all thoughts and opinions are my own.
Giant
Cast
- Roald Dahl: John Lithgow
- Tom Maschler: Elliott Levey
- Jessie Stone: Aya Cash
- Felicity Crosland: Rachael Stirling
- Hallie: Tessa Bonham Jones
- Wally Saunders: Richard Hope
Rating: ★★★★★
What is Giant about?
It’s the summer of 1983, The Witches is about to hit the shelves and Roald Dahl is making last-minute edits. But the outcry at his recent, explicitly antisemitic article won’t die down.
Across a single afternoon at his family home, and rocked by an unexpectedly explosive confrontation, Dahl is forced to choose: make a public apology or risk his name and reputation.
What are my thoughts on Giant?
In a time where morality’s turned into ‘pick a side’ black and white thinking with little room for nuance, Giant offers a confronting portrait into one element of Roald Dahl’s life treated with kids gloves by the public: his raging antisemitism. While the afternoon depicted is a work of fiction, everything surrounding it is very real. Dahl’s book review about Israel’s bombing of Beirut turning into an anti-Jew tirade and the antisemitic subtext of the titular characters in his upcoming book The Witches set the scene for a PR crisis his American and British publishers are trying to avoid. All they want is an apology. He isn’t willing to cave in.
This is where Rosenblatt’s blistering yet surprisingly humourous writing and Nicholas Hytner’s direction shine. With everyone sat around Bob Crowley’s beautifully constructed set of Dahl’s renovated home in disarray, all cards are laid on the table for an engaging two hours. You’d expect Dahl to be a one dimensional monster a’la his children’s stories which allows us to root for characters carrying the moral high ground, but gradually it reveals everyone has their own shades of grey. Arguments ebb and flow as contradictions are called out and tempers flare. Characters’ backstories slowly reveal how they shape the people they’ve become and the values they carry. It all makes for a balanced piece where no party is 100% right or wrong.
It may be set in the 1980’s, but Giant feels more relevant now. Not just in the discussions characters have surrounding the conflict between Israel and Palestine – several lines could be easily applied today – but also whether we’re capable of separating art from the artist. It’s an element not dived into so much as I may have liked in Giant, but this a question that lingers on long afterwards. In fact, it can apply to some works on in the West End right now and certain writers delving into the political sphere.
What’s the cast like?
It says so much considering his illustrious screen and stage resume that John Lithgow gives a career best performance in Giant. Literally and figuratively towering over the cast as the heavyweight of children’s literature, Lithgow creates a complex Roald Dahl that you pity and are repulsed by, expressing childlike excitement over sorbet one minute and becoming an uncontrollable loose canon the next. Smart, charismatic yet carrying a looming presence, it’s Lithgow’s captivating journey getting to know Dahl that makes his shocking comments in his verbatim interview towards the end a huge gut punch, even leading to shaking heads and gasps from the audience. It’s more than understandable why Lithgow earned his Olivier.
It may be Lithgow leading the show, but the rest of the ensemble is just as compelling. Also scoring an Olivier for his performance, Elliot Levey is equally as compelling as Dahl’s resident ‘house Jew’ Tom Maschler. The more reserved type taking Dahl’s microaggressions in stride and wanting to exert damage control as quickly and painlessly as possible, the afternoon’s debates force him to contend with his background as a British Jew and face his internalised antisemitism, showing more to him than meets the eye. That is when he’s not going outside to play tennis with the policeman stationed outside the Dahl’s home.
Taking over from Romola Garai, Aya Cash holds her own as American publisher Jessie Stone. While the character is a work of fiction, she creates a great foil to Maschler, assertive and fiery in her impassioned pleas to explain the harm Dahl’s generalisations about her religion have caused, ending act one with a speech that earned great applause. However it’s the moments where she’s pushed into a corner and reveals her vulnerability is where she truly shines, capturing the fear Dahl’s words leave her.
Rachael Stirling plays peacemaker as Dahl’s fiancee Felicity ‘Liccie’ Crosland and helps reveal his affectionate side. While underutilised, Tessa Bonham Jones’ New Zealand maid Hallie provides much needed humour, even contributing to the debate as Dahl asks whether we should boycott avocados from Israel with one justified question: ‘Does the avocado know it’s Israeli?’
What are my overall thoughts?
For an author whose image has been as fiercely protected as Roald Dahl’s – even having his works continue to be brought to the stage today – I commend Mark Rosenblatt for creating an urgent piece of theatre that makes us think long after it’s ended. Giant is where it belongs in the West End. Gripping, bold and unafraid to say the quiet part out loud, Rosenblatt’s writing and Hytner’s direction are further complemented by its captivating ensemble led by a stunning John Lithgow.
All else I can say is no wonder it won big at the Oliviers.
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