'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 fucking 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 a chance to make amends…
It's the summer of 1983, The Witches is about to hit the shelves and Roald Dahl is making last-minute edits. But the outcry at his recent, explicitly antisemitic article won't die down. Across a single afternoon at his family home, and rocked by an unexpectedly explosive confrontation, Dahl is forced to choose: make a public apology or risk his name and reputation.
Inspired by real events, Mark Rosenblatt's debut play Giant offers a nuanced portrait of a fiendishly charismatic icon – and explores with dark humour the difference between considered opinion and dangerous rhetoric.
The play was first performed to great acclaim at the Royal Court Theatre, London, in 2024, directed by Nicholas Hytner with a cast including John Lithgow as Dahl.
It won the Olivier and Critics' Circle Awards for Best New Play and played to record-breaking houses in the West End in 2025, before transferring to Broadway's Music Box Theatre in 2026.
About the Author :
Mark Rosenblatt is a writer and director for stage and screen.
He has worked as a freelance theatre director across the UK and internationally, directing productions at Shakespeare's Globe, the National Theatre, Sheffield Theatres, Northampton Theatres, Leeds Playhouse, the Edinburgh Festival, for HighTide Festival Theatre, at the Young Vic, in the West End, off-Broadway and Tokyo, to name a few.
He was full-time Associate Director at Leeds Playhouse from 2013-16 and an Associate Artist there till 2020, directing nine mainhouse productions. Before that, he was the Associate at the National Theatre Studio from 2011 to 2013 where he ran the Directors Department and developed new work.
As a playwright, his work includes Giant (Royal Court Theatre, London, 2024; West End, 2025), which won Best New Play at the 2025 Critics' Circle Theatre Awards, where Mark Rosenblatt was also named Most Promising Playwright. He won Best Creative West End Debut at the Stage Debut Awards in 2025.
Author photo: Luke Bryant
Review :
'Shocking, challenging, spectacularly good... Head-on, unflinchingly, Giant confronts the vile antisemitism of one of the most beloved children's authors of all time, while sweeping along in its ferocious cross-currents of dialogue all the pitched battles of society today... what is so good about Rosenblatt's play is that it's so tightly focused, and so colossally universal'
'Astonishingly good'
'Enthralling... we'll be lucky to encounter a more thought-provoking play in the next decade. Mark Rosenblatt's debut drama really is that good... I have run out of superlatives'
'Brilliant... as dark and sharp-toothed as one of Dahl's fictive monsters... sophisticated writing that speaks directly to our times... shows a necessary bravery. This is exactly what theatre is for'
'Incendiary... a play that says things that many people may be thinking, but are too afraid to air in public. It's not simply about Dahl, it's about all of us'
'Startling... one heck of a debut play – well-made and sturdy, exquisitely tense, and scrupulously fair'
'There can't be a more timely play on the London stage right now. Or better written'
'Extraordinary... finely written... rattlesnake-shocking... Giant is not fancy in form but its movement is intricate. One detailed argument gives rise to another, and the play is better for not resolving them all... it rings chillingly true'
'An unslayable hit... hugely impressive... a complex plethora of thought-provoking little details... a summer smash... this is the play to see'
'Fiery and incisive... Rosenblatt is admirably unafraid to plunge into fierce arguments... he tackles this thorny subject with the right mix of journalistic balance, insight and rightful condemnation'
'Simmering and tense... a memorable portrait of Dahl... Rosenblatt brilliantly captures his strident, baroquely florid voice'
'Riveting... devastating... does what good theatre can do better than any other setting, holding and exploring complex, contradictory views without oversimplification'
'Startling, feverish and prescient'
'Theatrical magic... blisteringly good... the real star here is Mark Rosenblatt's writing. So complex and rich in tone, it beautifully taps into a difficult subject and instils it with comedy in a way that never minimises the pain... exceptional... just a phenomenal piece of theatre'
'Blistering... a blast of a debut play'
