Giant, a new play exploring the antisemitism that has marred the legacy of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Matilda writer Roald Dahl's legacy, has officially opened in London, and the reviews are pouring in.
Starring two-time Tony winner John Lithgow as Dahl in Giant, and written by Mark Rosenblatt, the play comes on the heels of a broader cultural conversation about Dahl's work and the prejudice that was embedded in many of his most beloved stories. In 2023, hundreds of words in the author's books were either altered or omitted from future printings in order to remove countless negative references to race, skin color, ethnicity, gender, disabilities, and more.
Set in 1983 when a particularly vicious public outburst of antisemitism drew public outcry against Dahl shortly before the publication of his story The Witches, Giant is directed by Nicholas Hytner.
Read the reviews below.
The Daily Mail (Patrick Marmion)
The Independent (Alice Saville)
The New York Times (Houman Barekat) *
The Telegraph (Claire Allfree) *
Playbill will continue to update this list as reviews come in.
Running through November 16, Lithgow is joined by Elliot Levey as Tom Maschler, Dahl's Jewish publisher.
For more information, visit RoyalCourtTheatre.com.
