Giant is the striking and though provoking play by Mark Rosenblatt, directed by Nicholas Hytner, that examines a controversial moment in the life of Roald Dahl—specifically the aftermath of a 1983 article in The New Statesman in which Dahl made comments regarding Israel’s military action in Beirut that many perceived as antisemitic. As pertinent today as it ever was.

The entire drama is constructed over one afternoon, set in Dahl’s home around 1983. It opens with Dahl editing The Witches, having just moved to a new home and dealing with physical discomfort (back pain) and co ordinating logistics. It starts as a drawing‑room style confrontation with publishers, his fiancée, and other associates gathering. It then becomes a much sharper, morally fraught and emotional around Dahl’s views.

The staging is evocative: it has unfinished elements, plastic sheeting, translucent curtains, ladders, and a kitchen space that feels both intimate and chaotic. This gives a sense of the social chaos unleashed by Dahl’s remarks. The direction emphasises both the uncomfortable humour and the darker undercurrents.

John Lithgow as Roald Dahl is the centerpiece. He delivers a performance which encompasses a personality which can be witty, petulant, sometimes charming, other times angry and cruel. Lithgow gives voice to Dahl’s contradictions. He illustrates his capacity for kindness and empathy when it comes to disability (drawing on his own family), alongside a lack of empathy for groups he doesn’t understand or belong to. Critics have praised how Lithgow captures Dahl’s arrogance, the idiosyncratic personality, physical ailments, his literary pride and his stubborn refusal to retract offensive views.

Giant is an important piece of theatre for our time—provocative, unsettling, and more rewarding than many plays that try to address political controversy. It prompts reflection rather than delivering moral simplicity. For audiences interested in how art, identity, and ethics collide, Giant offers a powerful experience.

Lithgow’s portrayal of Dahl makes him both repellent and memorably human; Mark Rosenblatt’s writing ensures the play doesn’t collapse into dividing the audience, but instead remains a site of moral complexity. The production is a reminder that theatre can still challenge, interrogate, and provoke, especially when it draws from real life, thoughtfully. I enjoyed the play and its performances greatly.