The big theater hit and Olivier-winning play of this season in London is about a famous author, one whose works have touched so many children, mine included. But what we imagined from his books as empathy and sympathy for the underdog, lay within a heart full of hate. There was, it turns out, a reason that his wife called him Roald the Rotten.
The play, “Giant,” is set in 1983. Following the great success of “The BFG,” and on the cusp of publishing “The Witches,” Roald Dahl is visited by his London publisher. It is a particularly fraught time for the internationally acclaimed children’s author. Always in pain from back and hip injuries suffered in World War II, recently divorced from his wife of 30 years (Patricia Neal), on the cusp of marrying his mistress of more than a decade (Felicity Crosland), in the midst of the general chaos of a house renovation, he must also give final approval for the Quentin Blake illustrations accompanying “The Witches.” He apparently loathed having to share royalties with Blake.
Hovering over it all, however, is his recently published scurrilous essay entitled “Not a Chivalrous Affair,” disguised as a review of “God Cried” in the August 1983 issue of “Literary Review.” A photo book with text by Tony Clifton, “God Cried” details the invasion of Lebanon by Israel in 1982. The military action, spurred by PLO (Palestinian Liberation Organization) attacks on Israel, was further exacerbated when the Abu Nidal terrorist group tried to assassinate Israel’s ambassador to the United Kingdom. Civilian casualties were rampant on both sides of the border. Dahl used his review as a screed against the existence of Israel. To quote from the review, “Never before in the history of man has a race of people switched so rapidly from being much-pitied victims to barbarous murderers.” Dahl wasn’t just a champion of Palestine and Palestinians—he was a very vocal opponent of Israel, Israelis, Zionists and, in not so coded language, Jews in general. The public reaction to Dahl’s expressions has been overwhelmingly negative and, as his publisher Tom Maschler points out, it won’t be good for sales. Further, his U.S. publisher, Farrar Straus Giroux, has sent a representative, Jessica Stone, to discuss the marketing of “The Witches,” something that could be endangered by the views he expressed in his review. The very definition of nonplussed, Maschler, a Jew, fled Vienna with his parents when Hitler annexed Austria; probably unknown to Dahl, Maschler spent a summer on a Kibbutz following secondary school.
When Stone arrives, she is greeted by an unrepentant and condescending Dahl. Goading her, questioning her credentials and unearthing that she is a Jew, the atmosphere is tense. Stone, not particularly high in the chain of command, is, at first, reluctant to engage. Eventually, Dahl’s incessant harassment brings out a fierce defensiveness that more than matches his patronizing and prejudicial arguments. It is a duel, perhaps not to the death but one that will wound both parties as Maschler and Crossland stand on the sidelines trying to calm the torrential seas to no avail.
Although Crossland and Maschler were participants in the life and career of Roald Dahl, Stone is a fictionalized character brought in to underscore and highlight the views and actions of Dahl. Did he have a contretemps with his American publisher or representative? Unlikely. But this was the playwright’s device to highlight the actual words written and spoken by Dahl. It is highly likely that conversations and debates, like those of the fictionalized Stone and the actual Maschler and Crossland did take place. But, as much as one would like to believe that the views expressed in his contretemps with Stone created a dent in his sales, it is unlikely. Sadly, today as in times past, the antisemitic ravings of a revered writer, of children’s books no less, are easily overlooked and dismissed.
Written by first time playwright Mark Rosenblatt, “Giant” lifts the curtain on the truly unpleasant side of someone who heretofore was a beloved figure. Beloved, I suppose, because most of us, fans of his books and what they brought to our children, never bothered to scratch the surface to reveal what had always been there. A good publicist can go a long way with someone whose belief structure is iron clad, and nothing was more iron clad than Dahl’s antisemitism.
Directed brilliantly and seamlessly by theater legend Nicholas Hytner (artistic director of the National Theatre from 2003-2015 and now artistic director of London Theatre Company at the Bridge Theatre), he makes every role count no matter how minor. Even the tiny role of Hallie, the cook and bottle washer, played by Tessa Bonham Jones, has significance as a punctuation mark in the last scene. Rachel Stirling as Felicity represents the kind of glamorous, noblesse oblige upper middle class woman who finally got her man. Elliot Levey as Tom Maschler, the publisher, won the best supporting Olivier (the British Tony) for his in depth study of a man who must balance his professional life and relationship with one of his most important writers and his personal history. Watch as he’s goaded, how his eyes and body language convey the kind of strength it takes to parry the abhorrent behavior of someone he had considered more than a client. Making her West End debut is Aya Cash as Jessica Stone, the American representative. Her tentativeness that eventually grows into disdain and anger heightens the stakes. She is truly a marvel.
Photo by Johan Persson
“Giant” is nothing, however, without a giant presence and that defines John Lithgow brilliantly. Inhabiting Dahl’s best and worst qualities, it is impossible not to be totally absorbed by him. With a career of great roles and performances, this is one of his best, if not the best, and it got him the Olivier Award for best actor. He has already committed to a proposed Broadway production.
Rosenblatt wrote the play in the Spring of 2023, before Hamas attacked Israel. The arguments that continue today about the justification of massive retaliation when the primary impact is against civilians, and whether sympathy and support for the Palestinian people in Gaza equates to antisemitism, mirrors some of the objections that Dahl had to the invasion of Lebanon in 1982. The main difference was his negation of the right of Israel to exist and what was eventually shown to be his blatant antisemitism. But deep within the structure of “Giant” is a view to the casual acceptance of his views that Jews controlled the media and the banks. His wife’s nonchalant handling of her husband, explaining that he really must consider an apology if he ever wanted to get on the Queen’s honor list, highlights that her only disapproval was rooted in self-interest.
Is it possible to overlook Dahl’s personal views when reading his books? Can genius and talent lie within an abhorrent being? Is reconciliation necessary? This is a conversation that started when considering Picasso the man versus Picasso the artist. Would you erase “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” or “James and the Giant Peach?” Do you have to? If you cancel the artist, must you also cancel the art? The questions and answers that Rosenblatt presents are all complex, some with obvious answers, some without.
My advice? Get on a plane, get a ticket and see this incredibly timely play. Actually, get on a plane and see the marvelous palette of entertainment on offer this summer on the London stage. “The Fifth Step” starring Jack Lowden and Martin Freeman; Hytner’s transformative “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” playing again after an award-winning run in 2019; a revival of “Evita” directed by Jamie Lloyd and starring Rachel Zegler; Brendan Gleeson in Conor McPherson’s quintessential Irish drama “The Weir” and Ruth Wilson and Michael Shannon in “A Moon for the Misbegotten.” London theater tickets are so much less expensive than Broadway that a week of plays there and a great dinner in Covent Garden would pay for the differential when compared to what it would cost for New York tickets and airfare to get there. It’s worth the jet lag.
“Giant” playing at the Harold Pinter Theatre through August 2.
Neely Swanson spent most of her professional career in the television industry, almost all of it working for David E. Kelley. In her last full-time position as Executive Vice President of Development, she reviewed writer submissions and targeted content for adaptation. As she has often said, she did book reports for a living. For several years she was a freelance writer for “Written By,” the magazine of the WGA West, and was adjunct faculty at USC in the writing division of the School of Cinematic Arts. Neely has been writing film and television reviews for the “Easy Reader” for more than 10 years. Her past reviews can be read on Rotten Tomatoes where she is a tomatometer-approved critic.
