Following a sell-out run at the Royal Court, the play everyone is talking about is transferring to the West End.
“I wanted to put you bang in the picture. Apprise you of the difficulties. Because, in case you hadn’t noticed, he’s a human f*cking boobytrap. And now, guess what, surprise surprise, boom!”
A world-famous children’s author under threat. A battle of wills in the wake of scandal. And one chance to make amends…
John Lithgow will reprise his role as Roald Dahl in the west end transfer of Mark Rosenblatt's critically acclaimed play.
Directed by Nicholas Hytner, The Royal Court's production of Giant will open at the West End's Harold Pinter Theatre in Spring 2025.
I admired director-turned-author Mark Rosenblatt’s playwriting debut upon its Royal Court premiere last autumn. But I wasn’t prepared for the seismic jolt that Nicholas Hytner’s production now delivers. The drama, set 40 years ago but blisteringly topical to our times now, has been seasoned by the deepening of John Lithgow’s altogether astonishing performance as Roald Dahl and the terrific addition to the cast of the American actress Aya Cash, taking over from Romola Garai as an adversary of considerable proportions and power.
Always sophisticated, Rosenblatt’s writing is the real star of the show. His ideas burst at the seams, simultaneously intricate and straightforward. He writes a capricious man with a ferocious attitude and very prone to flattery. Lithgow introduces a man of great stature (both figuratively and literally: he towers over everybody at 6’4” with sparse tufts of hair sticking up, making him even taller) who speaks in riddles, charming in his literary devices and colourful descriptions. The renovating process is “the apocalypse” and Jewish people are “that lot”.
| 2012 | Off-Broadway |
Public Theater Production Off-Broadway |
| West End |
West End |
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| 2025 | West End |
West End |
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