Mark Rosenblatt's West End play Giant, centered on beloved children's book author Roald Dahl, will cross the pond for a Broadway run next year. Performances will begin March 11, 2026, at a Shubert theatre to be announced. Two-time Tony winner Nicholas Hytner will again direct.
The play will come stateside with its two-time Tony-winning star, John Lithgow, reprising his performance as Dahl. The play comes on the heels of a broader cultural conversation about Dahl's work and the prejudice that was embedded in many of his most beloved stories. In 2023, hundreds of words in Dahl's books were either altered or omitted from future printings in order to remove countless negative references to race, skin color, ethnicity, gender, disabilities, and more.
The London production earned three 2025 Olivier Awards, including Best New Play, Best Actor for Lithgow, and Best Supporting Actor for Elliot Levey (further casting for the Broadway bow is to be announced). Read what critics had to say about the U.K. run here.
Brian and Dayna Lee, Stephanie Kramer and Nicole Kramer, Josh Fiedler and Robyn Goodman, and Royal Court Theatre are producing the transfer. The production will feature design by Bob Crowley, with further design team and casting to be announced.
“Giant is a powerful reminder that live theatre sparks vital conversation and deeper connection," says Brian and Dayna Lee in a joint statement on behalf of the producing team. "The critical and audience acclaim from its West End run speaks to the insight and resonance of Mark Rosenblatt’s writing, remarkable for a debut play, and to John Lithgow’s stunning performance. We are honored to bring this timely work to Broadway this spring.”
“My debut play Giant was written on spec in my kitchen with no assurance it would ever get produced at all,” says Rosenblatt. “So, to have it premiere at London’s mighty Royal Court Theatre before transferring to the West End was truly life-changing. And now, to open on Broadway, led again by the peerless John Lithgow, is truly the stuff of dreams—I can’t wait to share Giant and Nick Hytner’s exceptional production with New York audiences.”
A star of stage and screen, Lithgow has twice been honored with Tony Awards, in 1973 for his work in The Changing Room, and in 2002 for the musical Sweet Smell of Success. Giant will be Lithgow's first time back on the Main Stem since starring in 2019's Hillary and Clinton.
"Being a part of Giant from its inception has been the most challenging and exciting stage experience of my career,” says Lithgow. “I play the central character of Roald Dahl, a man of dizzying complexity, on a day of crisis in his life. The story takes place 40 years ago, but it resonates powerfully with events of our present day. No play I’ve ever been in has had such an impact on audiences. I am so proud and honored to play this part."
Visit GiantThePlay.com.
