The Crown star John Lithgow will star as revered writer Roald Dahl in a new play lifting the lid on the Willy Wonka author’s virulent antisemitism.
Giant is one of nine new plays in David Byrne’s first season as artistic director at the Royal Court Theatre that will also see Ben Whishaw take to its stage.
It comes two years after the theatre in Sloane Square was engulfed in its own antisemitism scandal that saw it apologise “unreservedly” to the Jewish community after the character of a manipulative billionaire in one of its plays was named Hershal Fink.
The play, written by Mark Rosenblatt and directed by former National Theatre boss Nicholas Hytner, is set in 1983 when Dahl was preparing to publish his bestseller The Witches and based on real events.
That same year Dahl reviewed a book about the Israeli army fighting in Lebanon where he accused the US of being “utterly dominated by the great Jewish financial institutions” before going on to tell a journalist “even a stinker like Hitler didn’t just pick on them for no reason”.
The play will open in September and also stars Elliot Levey as Dahl’s Jewish publisher Tom Maschler, whose own family fled the Nazi invasion of Austria to find refuge in England.
Other new plays, all of which are by writers new to the theatre, include ECHO (Every Cold Hearted Oxygen) – an immigration drama with a new actor every night performing a script they have never seen – which is in partnership with LIFT (London International Festival of Theatre) and Dugsi Dayz, which is inspired by the cult film The Breakfast Club.
The play follows four young British-Somali girls stuck in detention at Mosque and The Bounds which is set during a medieval football game in the sixteenth century.
Also being produced is Brace Brace, a play about the aftermath of a plane hijacking and Bluets, directed by Katie Mitchell, which stars Whishaw.
He said: “This will be my fourth time working with the amazing Katie Mitchell and I simply can’t wait, it’s always an adventure.
“I haven’t been on a stage since before the pandemic so I’m a little nervous - but very happy indeed to be sharing with people Margaret Perry’s completely beautiful adaptation of Maggie Nelson’s great, great book Bluets.”
Mr Byrne, who took over from Vicky Featherstone after a decade in charge, said: “There are 10 Royal Court debuts this season. It’s my first programme as artistic director, and it’s the Royal Court debut for each of the nine exceptional writers.
“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.
“This is an invitation to audiences, artists and fellow playwrights everywhere: across my time at the Royal Court, we’ll be treading the path of maximum adventure.
“Times may be difficult but we’re up for the challenge, and the mission of the Court - to champion brave writers that push us forward - has never been more vital. Come join us, I want to take everybody along for the ride.”
