#Pottermore #KeepTheSecrets #Muggles @HPPlayLDN

If you’ve not managed to see it yet, or you’re a Potter fan in need of another magic fix, more Harry Potter and the Cursed Child tickets will be on sale on September 18th 2018 at 11am (GMT).

Tickets will be for performances from April 10th to July 28th 2019.

 

I was lucky enough to see this magical masterpiece before the official reviews were out, so adhering to J. K. Rowling’s @jk_rowling‘s request to #keepthesecrets, my theatre thoughts of Cursed Child don’t give much away.

However, please stop reading now if you don’t want to know anything!

 

Following the Harry Potter series of books, the world of witchcraft and wizardry arrives at London’s Palace Theatre with Rowling’s latest work Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.

 

After what felt like years of waiting for a release date and hours of online queuing for tickets, I was lucky enough to bag my seats to see the highly anticipated two-part stage production.

Although eager to see what the phenomenal J. K. Rowling, along with Jack Thorne and John Tiffany, had produced I was still skeptical – could this just be a commercialised hype to keep the Potter fever alive?

Definitely not! I was spellbound! In fact I spent most of the time in awe and amazement, then between each performance my friends and I couldn’t stop talking about it (and the fact some of the cast from new Star Trek film where just a few rows away).

 

Set 19 years on from the book’s end, the magical stage is set, focusing on a now middle-aged Harry and his youngest child, Albus, who is struggling with the “family legacy”. As the plot unfolds we see the distinct Potter pattern – an innocent opening at the start of term and excited new first years joining Hogwarts, before events unravel and things turn dark, both in and out of school grounds.

 

As with her other works, it is no surprise that our new focus is an outsider and here it is Albus Potter (Sam Clemmett) as he embarks on a whirlwind of a year at Hogwarts (as his father did many times). However it is Albus’ unexpected friendship with geeky Scorpious Malfoy (Anthony Boyle) – yes son of Draco, that becomes the heart-warming surprise and key element to this story.

 

Paul Thornley brought the Weasley humor to life with quick bursts of comedic flair and snappy one-liners, but I did feel Ron wasn’t given enough of the spotlight, unlike that of his wife Hermione. Intelligent and assertive as ever and now Minister of Magic, Noma Dumezweni continuously brought Hermione’s air of confidence and school bossy know-it-all to light – at times perhaps too strict and lacking the sensitive side we know Hermione has.

Jamie Parker is a perfect adult Harry. His ability to show the weight and emotional strain of his rollercoaster childhood is exceptional – and essential to the story. As a parent Harry might still be learning the ropes, but wife Ginny, played by Poppy Miller, provides the same warmth and protective comfort we’ve grown to love (and seen in her mother throughout the films). The Malfoy family are less dark and creepy, but Alex Price keeps the usual Draco mannerism en-pointe.

 

Costume and set design was incredible from simplicity of the house flags to actual flying dementors! Magic really did happen right before my eyes as witches and wizards disappeared, the stage became an underwater scene and the theatre itself became part of the production!

Rowling never ceases to amaze and captivate with her imagination and The Cursed Child is yet another example of her story telling skills. We meet new characters, grow with old ones and share a few memories with those who left us.

 

A magical delight for muggles everywhere and undoubtedly will stay in London’s theatre land for a few years to come! I only wish I had my very own time turner to see it all again, but “terrible things happen to those who meddle with time”.

 

Palace Theatre, London – July 2016

Stalls, row T, seat 26