That episode is set in the summer of 1983, when the writer has just published an antisemitic article in a magazine against the backdrop of the 1982 Lebanon War. From that point on, censorship and cancel culture begin to close in on him. At the Principal, José María Pou becomes the writer from Thursday through Sunday, opening the doors of his home just as his two publishers try to persuade him to publicly apologize for those statements.
The play invites audiences to reflect on freedom of expression and public cancellation while reconstructing a verbal battle between humor, tension and confrontation. "Roald Dahl was an extremely complicated man. He was very difficult, and you can see that on stage. On the other hand, he loved children and always enjoyed being surrounded by them, but he was deeply direct. His publishers always said that he might have just met you and then tell you how ugly you were or how badly you dressed. He was a wartime pilot, and perhaps that is where his singularity came from," José María Pou acknowledged.
Pou fell in love with the play as soon as he saw its London premiere and did not hesitate for a second on Thursday to say that it is "one of the best plays to have premiered anywhere in the world in recent years." "The audience is going to see a debate that, although it took place in 1982, remains extremely relevant: the ongoing massacre by the State of Israel against the Palestinian people. It is something everyone knows about, and it is highly topical," he said.
ONE OF THE "GREATEST" ACTORS STILL WORKING
"Giant" was written by playwright Mark Rosenblatt. In fact, it is his first play. "It seems incredible to me because it has the theatrical craftsmanship and structure worthy of the greats. Arthur Miller, Tennessee Williams..." Pou said. Just a year and a half after its premiere, it has already won three Olivier Awards, the most prestigious honors in British theater, and has opened in New York and Barcelona to great acclaim.
"This play belongs to that group of paradigmatic works that are not regularly programmed but are of the highest quality. It comes with a great actor, one of the greatest still working, alongside José Sacristán, Lola Herrera... It will be along those lines. The box-office success already suggests that it will be a hit," acknowledged José María Turmo, manager of the Performing Arts Board.
