Giant: The Power of Language and Hate

I had a hard time trying to figure out how to start this review. Do I wax poetic about the nature of language in society and the impact of how simple phrasing can damage whole groups of people no matter how just we may believe our cause? Do I make a trite mention of hate being like saltwater? Would a discussion on how some hide behind honesty as a valued trait even when it’s impolite in a given setting? Do I mention the lady in the line to the theater who was cursing out Broadway theaters for not having air conditioning and making comments about some actress as she tried to cut me in line? Has this gone on long enough to convey my swirling thoughts?

A play like Giant confronts us with the nature of hate and how it can reside in those so brilliant and responsible for so much good that it becomes baffling to know how it took residents in their psyche. Giant does not try to justify hate but it seeks to understand where it can come from. In todays world I do not believe it is a danger to understand hate when used to show how it can be misconstrued as righteous, bigotry will never be defeated if we do not look to see ones side and then learn how to fight it from within. Giant is an uncomfortable watch as the layers of a man are slowly unraveled much like a piece of gum that changes flavors the longer you chew it until we’re all left blue in the face from the collective lack of oxygen thats left the room from gasping. This timely work on anti-semitism, written nearly a year after the bombings in Israel and Palestine takes us back to a similarly horrific time which continues to show humanities refusal to change no matter how much the past pleads us to not repeat it. To learn how to condemn and debate in a healthy manner but to never lose humanity toward others for the actions of the few, to understand the consequences of polite society and in Roald Dahl’s case, your legacy.

For brief summary, Giant is a play about the latter half of Roald Dahls(Played by John Lithgow) life only a short while after his infamous book review has caused a stir for its attack on the Jewish people in the wake of Israels bombing of Beirut. In an act of damage control, his publisher Tom Maschler (played by Elliot Levy) attmepts to stage an interview with a young Jewish journalist named Jessie Stone (played by Aya Cash) to get a statement of apology from Dahl. The evening slowly descends into a situation as tangled and foul as Mr Twits beard as a result. Directed by Nicholas Hytner with expert use of a closed space for maximum volume and personal intimacy, this play is a sure an uncomfortable brilliant watch.

John Lithgow acts as the marquee attraction to this performance as he delivers a powerhouse performance which echoes like Lady Trumbull in the school yard. The way he deftly switches between an instigating child trying to revel in the discomfort and debate his book review has caused in the name of ‘honesty’ to a man who shows sympathy and genuine humanity for Mr’s Stones boy who suffers a similar intellectual impairment as his own son. Its a true masterclass of skill in which you can see no wasted movement on the stage for an old legend, every look he gives to the side during a conversation, the twists and scowls in his gaze, the way he weeps for those lost, its an utterly human performance to portray lacking in such human decency Lithgow brings. The final phone call is his finest moment as Dahl, after having agreed to an interview, calls a local british paper to double down on his anti-semitic remarks in an act of defiance under his Fiance (played by Rachel Stirling) nose, one last childish nose thumbing at everyones concerns for his words and actions. This phone call is read verbatim what Dahl actually said to the journalist up to and including the infamous “Even Hitler, the stinker he was, Did not pick on [the jews] for no reason”. Its a heartbreaking and cringe inducing as the audience is given a brief moment of hope that Dahl had changed only to see him embrace his anti-semitism as he recognizes it as a part of him. Lithgow is brilliant in getting us to believe his revelation in the end is one for the positive only to pull back into this monologue which he delivers with such glee and delight to the point you can’t not watch. All the effort to make him change amounting to the mask coming off and not a change is a brilliant stroke of writing by Mark Rosenblatt who builds the tension of the play so very well and makes every argument matter and erupt naturally.

I’d be remised if I did not discuss Aya Cash’s performance in this as well as she serves as a passionate foil to Lithgows childishness, a visible confrontation of the damage his words cause as she tries to appeal to his humanity with testimonies from people who loved his work now threatening to get rid of his books. Her act 1 ending monolgue where she, confronting a man who she grew up reading and admired, demans an apology for lumping her in with those who bombed Beirut is juicer and more epic than any giant peach. It contrast well with Elliot Levy’s performance as a jewish man who tries to view himself as detached from the action but eventually is chided into giving a point of view when called a “house jew” by Dahl. Levy does an excellent job himself in playing bottle restraint as he carries his own mask around with him in the name of business. Finally Rachel Stirling is tender and yet open as Dahl’s fiancé, Felicity Crossland, having to switch between protective, exasperated and finally desperate to show Dahl the error of his ways. How being hateful can lead to consequnces for everyone around you, that we as indivdiuals do not exist in a bubble. Like a snozzcumber in a salad, Felicity’s love is tragic in that Dahl does not reciprocate her appeals for humanity at the end when he goes behind her back with the phone call that risks them all still and her efforts to give him knighthood, an act of love wasted.

Much of this excellent play is on the theme of honesty and who we are deep down, how language pours from the masks we hide behind before the shouting vibrations shake it off. Dahl tries to believe himself to be good through out as he argues he said what he said due to the tragedy of the children in Beirut, only to finally let the reality of his hate slip through as he denouces Stone as a “scheming, filthy Jew” by the end. Language is powerful not because of the emotions it can bring in others but because of what it reveals in others. The choice of our words and statements can only hide out true feelings for so long which is why debate is encouraged to pull these truths from the depths of our minds. It is only in the most intense of moments with our backs to the wall, much like Dahl, do we finally hear ourselves. Dahl wanted honesty but was unable to be honest with himself until the end and in some ways…we all wished he hadn’t been.