Giant
Let’s start with the obvious: Giant, written by Mark Rosenblatt and directed by Nicholas Hytner, is already an Olivier Award-winning production. It has taken home Best New Play, Best Actor (John Lithgow), and Best Supporting Actor (Elliot Levey) and rightly so. Both Lithgow and Levey remain in this run, and my only disagreement with the awards panel is that more of the cast didn’t receive accolades.
Set in the summer of 1983, the play unfolds in a room mid-renovation. The set is cleverly designed, with plasterboard removed, scaffold poles supporting the ceiling, and polythene draped over the mantelpiece and back wall. The rear plastic sheeting provides a real yet quirky upstage entrance.
We are introduced to Roald Dahl (John Lithgow) in animated discussion with Tom Maschler (Elliot Levey), the man behind the Booker Prize and Dahl’s publisher. They're thrashing out the final details and illustrations for The Witches. Through dialogue, subtle and exaggerated physicality, we come to understand that Dahl is in significant physical discomfort, worsened by the chaos of home renovations.
The narrative primarily revolves around Dahl, Maschler, Dahl’s long-time mistress and now-fiancée Felicity Crosland (Rachael Stirling), and Jessica Stone (Aya Cash) from the American publishing house. The central conflict emerges as the two publishing reps attempt to convince Dahl to issue a public apology for an antisemitic book review he wrote. That review is read aloud after the interval, and it casts a long, uncomfortable shadow. If you do not know it, wait for this moment rather than reading it ahead of your visit.
Rosenblatt’s script is razor sharp laden with intellectual wit and biting commentary. Jokes, jabs, and trenchant lines around Israel, Palestine, and Jewish identity are layered throughout. It’s no wonder the play won the Olivier for Best New Play; the writing crackles with tension and humour.
Lithgow is extraordinary. His portrayal of Dahl shifts from irritable and misogynistic to tender and reflective within moments, leaving both the characters onstage and the audience unsure of where they stand. His dynamic with Aya Cash’s Jessica Stone is electric, particularly during a moment just before the interval when Cash delivers a monologue so raw and heartfelt it visibly moved the audience to tears.
Despite the heavy themes, there is relief. Levey’s Maschler serves a few moments with tennis anecdotes, and Tessa Bonham Jones as Hallie, the Auckland-accented maid, adds a welcome lightness. This makes her silent presence in a later scene, just sitting centre stage while Dahl takes a phone call, all the more capturing. Through nothing more than her expressions and stillness, she conveys a wave of emotion. Marvellous.
Beyond the emotional rollercoaster, Giant invites the audience to grapple with a vital question: can we separate art from the artist? In an age where the private lives of public figures are increasingly scrutinised, it’s a question that lingers after the curtain call.
This show was reviewed on the 2nd May 2025 at the Harold Pinter Theatre, London where it runs until the 2nd August 2025. Tickets available here: Giant | Official Box Office | Harold Pinter Theatre
Review written by Valentine Gale-Sides
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Photo credit: Johan Persson
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