JOHN LITHGOW'S GIANT AMONG BIG WINNERS AT OLIVIER AWARDS

Giant, a play about Roald Dahl's antisemitism starring John Lithgow as the truculent children's author, was one of the big winners at this year's Olivier Awards, Britain's equivalent of the Tonys.

- ALEX MARSHALL

The play, which was staged at the Royal Court last year and is transferring to the West End on April 26, took home three awards at Sunday's ceremony at the Royal Albert Hall in London-best actor, for Lithgow; best supporting actor for Elliot Levey as a publisher trying to get Dahl to apologise for his statements about Jews; and the coveted best new play award.

For that final prize, Giant bested four other titles, including The Years, an acclaimed staging of a Frenchwoman's life (featuring a back-street abortion and late-in-life affair) that is running at the Harold Pinter Theater until April 19.

The success for Giant was perhaps unsurprising given how much critics praised its opening run. Clive Davis, in