John Lithgow to Play Roald Dahl in Royal Court Production of Giant, a New Play About the Author’s Antisemitism

Two-time Tony Award winner John Lithgow is set to play Roald Dahl in a new play about the author's antisemitism. Giant, the debut play of Mark Rosenblatt, will be directed by Nicholas Hytner for London's Royal Court Theatre. The play begins performances on September 20 at Jerwood Theatre Downstairs, the theater’s main space, and runs through November 16.

The play is set in the summer of 1983, as Dahl’s family and Jewish publisher gather to navigate the fall-out from Dahl’s recent antisemitic outbursts in the press. That year, Dahl told the New Statesman, “There is a trait in the Jewish character that does provoke animosity—maybe it’s a kind of lack of generosity towards non-Jews. I mean, there’s always a reason why anti-anything crops up anywhere.” He added: “Even a stinker like Hitler didn’t just pick on them for no reason.”

“I'm thrilled to be performing at The Royal Court where I've seen so much great work, stretching all the way back to the late 1960s,” Lithgow said in a statement. Lithgow will be joined on stage by Olivier Award winner Elliot Levey.

The Royal Court’s new season will also include a new adaptation of Maggie Nelson’s novella Bluets, starring Ben Whishaw, and ECHO (Every Cold Hearted Oxygen), starring a different performer every night, by White Rabbit, Red Rabbit writer Nassim Soleimanpour and Omar Elerian.

Artistic director David Byrne said: “More than just a season, this is a statement of intent for what’s to come: a new generation of bold voices with big, messy stories to tell; world-renowned artists rubbing alongside insurgent new talent, igniting some unmissable theatre on our stages.”