Whether you’re a Slytherin or a Gryffindor, all Potterheads can agree that Hogwarts is the most magical world a reader can dive into. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child continues the story from where we left off – only this time, you will witness the development of this incredible story – not through a book – but at the theatre. Here’s why we think the Harry Potter theatre experience is even more magical than a copy of the book from Flourish and Blotts.
Visual magic
Packed with ghosts, ghouls and great halls, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry has always been a place of magical wonder for keen readers. What kid obsessed with the books didn’t want that magic to become real life? Well – that’s exactly what this new theatre production provides – sort of! While the films did a good job of conjuring up Hogwarts for the big screen, theatre takes the experience up a notch. The visual effects in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child are truly breathtaking and, more than ever before, they actually make you feel like you’re witnessing magic before your very eyes.
Made for theatre
Unlike the books, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child has been specifically written for performance on the big stage. Everything from J. K. Rowling’s plot, characters and written lines all have one purpose – to make the theatre experience as mystical as possible. With the London production receiving a record-breaking nine awards at the Olivier Awards, including Best New Play, it’s safe to say that Rowling succeeded.
Real-life Potter
Jamie Ballard as Harry Potter (Photo credit: Manuel Harlan)
There’s something magical about theatre that can’t be replicated in either books or films. Seeing your favourite characters living, breathing and speaking in front of you will make the Harry Potter universe feel more real than it ever has. Even if you haven’t read your copy of ‘Hogwarts: A History’ (sorry, Hermione), seeing those famous characters acting out a brand new chapter of the Potter-verse is a magical spectacle.
A new chapter
If you’re like us, you got to the end of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and felt like you needed more. We only saw a snapshot of Harry, Ron and Hermione as adults with families, with Rowling leaving the fanbase desperate to discover what happened next. Thankfully, the writer caved in and continued the story nineteen years after the Battle of Hogwarts. If you’re desperate to discover Harry’s fate, watching Cursed Child at the Palace theatre will more than satisfy your curiosity. Check out our exclusive video above where we go behind the curtain with the cast of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child as they take you behind the scenes and answer some popular questions!
With a script as dynamite as J. K. Rowling’s Cursed Child, Potter fanatics would be as loopy as Luna Lovegood not to check it out. As Rowling says in her own words, ‘there’s always room for a story that can transport people to another place’.