At this line, sitting deep in the stalls of Londons Royal Court theater, I gasped.
Lithgow and Elliot Levey, who plays Dahls publisher, Tom Maschler.
And yet it feels shockingly prescient, insightful to the point of discomfort.
Photo: Manuel Harlan
As he was writing the play, Rosenblatt says, he and his wife discussed its themes.
The subject he says, tore at him.
Because with Dahl himself, I was writing from both a critical and affectionate place.
Lithgow and Elliot Levey, who plays Dahl’s publisher, Tom Maschler.
And yet, he is also someone who, by his own admission, hates people like me.
So writing him, or a version of him, is to constantly juggle those two truths.
And thats often painful.
From left: Romola Garai, John Lithgow, Elliot Levey, Rachael Stirling.
But beyond that, Ive always been on the side of uncensored art.
Artists should be untethered no matter who they are.
There is so much great art created by scoundrels and so much bad art created by saints.
For all his cruelty, he is generous and kind, toothe play swells with awkward nuance.
Contradictory characters are the most fun to play and my bread and butter.
From left: Romola Garai, John Lithgow, Elliot Levey, Rachael Stirling.
As the first act came to a close I found myself looking around the dark theater, counting Jews.
I do this sometimesrecently, I do it more.
By conjuring up a lunch in 1983, Rosenblatt does this beautifully, and with daring.
As the cast rehearsed, he was nervous about how audiences would react.
The current conversations around anti-Semitism and Israel-Palestine are delicate, sensitive, complex, and highly impassioned.
The reviews were published overnight, and theyre outstanding, marveling at its subtlety, nuance, and sophistication.
Giantis on at the Royal Court theater through November 16.
