Witches and wizards will board their Nimbus 2000s and head to London’s Palace Theatre next summer, when Harry Potter And The Cursed Child, a new play based on an original story by J K Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany, receives its world premiere.
The new instalment of sorcery-inspired adventures, which Rowling insists is “not a prequel”, reunites the creative team behind another magical West End hit, Let The Right One In.
Director Tiffany and playwright Thorne will join forces with movement director Steven Hoggett, designer Christine Jones and sound designer Gareth Fry, all of whom worked on the Royal Court’s vampire myth, to bring the new wizarding tale to life on the London stage.
Talking about the play, Rowling, whose septet of novels have sold more than 450 million copies and been translated into 78 languages, said:
To answer one inevitable (and reasonable!) question – why isn’t #CursedChild a new novel? – I am confident that when audiences see the play
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) June 26, 2015
they will agree that it was the only proper medium for the story. #CursedChild
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) June 26, 2015
I’ve had countless offers to extend Harry’s story over the years, but Jack, John and Sonia Friedman are a dream team! #CursedChild
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) June 26, 2015
Harry Potter And The Cursed Child will also feature music by singer-songwriter Imogen Heap, whose hit songs include Hide And Seek, and costumes by Katrina Lindsay, whose recent work includes Bend It Like Beckham The Musical at the, aptly named for her forthcoming project, Phoenix Theatre.
The show will go on sale in the autumn, with further details about tickets – which will no doubt be more popular than a lifetime supply of chocolate frogs – announced this summer.