Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is a two-part stage play written by Jack Thorne based on an original story by Thorne, J. K. Rowling and John Tiffany. Previews of the play began at the Palace Theatre, London on 7 June 2016, and it premiered on 30 July 2016.
The play opened on Broadway on 22 April 2018 at the Lyric Theatre, with previews starting on 16 March 2018. Its cast is similar to that of the first year on West End, with returning actors Anthony Boyle, Sam Clemmett, Noma Dumezweni, Poppy Miller, Jamie Parker, Alex Price, and Paul Thornley.
The story begins nineteen years after the events of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and follows Harry Potter, now a Ministry of Magic employee, and his younger son Albus Severus Potter, who is about to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
At the 2017 Laurence Olivier Awards, the London production received a record-breaking eleven nominations and an again record-breaking nine awards, including Best New Play, Best Actor, Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Best Actress in a Supporting Role and Best Director. At the 2018 Tony Awards, the Broadway production won six awards, including Best Play.
Video Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
Background
In December 2013, it was revealed that a stage play based on Harry Potter had been in development for around a year, with the view to bringing it to the stage sometime in 2016. At the time of the announcement, Rowling revealed that the play would "explore the previously untold story of Harry's early years as an orphan and outcast". The following May, Rowling began establishing the creative team for the project.
On 26 June 2015, the project was officially confirmed under the title of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, and it was revealed it would receive its world premiere in mid-2016 at London's Palace Theatre. The announcement marked the eighteenth anniversary of the publication of the first Harry Potter novel, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, published on 26 June 1997.
On announcing plans for the project, Rowling stated that the play would not be a prequel. In response to queries regarding the choice of a play rather than a new novel, Rowling has stated that she "is confident that when audiences see the play they will agree that it is the only proper medium for the story". Rowling has also assured audiences that the play will contain an entirely new story and will not be a rehashing of previously explored content. On 24 September 2015, Rowling announced that the play had been split into two parts. The parts are designed to be viewed on the same day or consecutively over two evenings.
On 23 October 2015, it was confirmed the plays were set nineteen years after the conclusion of the final novel Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and would open at London's Palace Theatre in July 2016. The plays principally follow Harry, now Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and his younger son Albus Severus Potter. As of 22 July 2016, little more had been revealed about the plot even by those who had attended the previews since 7 June.
Maps Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
Plot
#KeepTheSecrets
The producers and Rowling have maintained a campaign called #KeepTheSecrets to ask people who have seen the play not to reveal its major twists. The slogan is printed on the tickets for the play and badges with the slogan are handed out for free during intervals. People buying their tickets online are emailed a video after the play from J.K. Rowling asking them to support the campaign.
Act 1
In the opening scene, set during the epilogue of Deathly Hallows in the year 2017, Harry Potter and Ginny Potter send their second son, Albus Severus Potter, on the Hogwarts Express to begin his first year at Hogwarts. Harry is now working in a desk job as the Head of Magical Law Enforcement at the Ministry of Magic, while Ginny is the editor of the sports section of The Daily Prophet. Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger also send their daughter Rose Granger-Weasley on the train. Hermione is now Minister of Magic, while Ron manages Weasley's Wizard Wheezes in Diagon Alley. Albus makes an unlikely friendship in Scorpius Malfoy, the son of Harry's former nemesis Draco Malfoy and Astoria Malfoy (née Greengrass). The school is stunned when, in a break with the tradition of Potters being sorted into Gryffindor, Albus is sorted into Slytherin alongside Scorpius.
Both boys are bullied by other students over the next few years, Albus due to his perceived failure to live up to his parents, Scorpius due to unproven rumours that he is the son of Lord Voldemort. In addition, Albus and Harry begin to drift apart, owing to Albus's struggles with his father's shadow and Harry's uncertainty on how to deal with his son's issues. Albus also drifts apart from Rose, with whom he was friends before meeting Scorpius and was sorted into Gryffindor. Prior to Albus and Scorpius's fourth year, Albus gets into a fight with his father after he is given Harry's baby blanket and a love potion from Ron. During the fight, Harry accidentally says that he sometimes wishes Albus was not his son, and Albus spills the potion on the blanket.
Harry obtains a prototype of a more powerful version of the Time-Turner, built by a Slytherin contemporary of Harry's, Theodore Nott, that allows one to travel back several years into the past and change history. Simultaneously, Harry's scar begins to hurt again, causing him to become concerned that Voldemort may somehow be returning. Amos Diggory, who has become old and is cared for by his niece, Delphi Diggory, asks Harry to use the Time-Turner to prevent the death of his son, Cedric Diggory. After overhearing Harry refuse to help the Diggorys, Albus is inspired to do so himself and convinces Scorpius to help him. The two escape from the Hogwarts Express and the trolley operator, who is revealed to be a monster placed on the train to prevent students from escaping. The two arrive at St. Oswald's Home for Old Witches and Wizards in Yorkshire, where Amos lives, and team up with Delphi to steal the Time-Turner from Hermione's office, in the Ministry of Magic, while disguised with Polyjuice Potion.
Act 2
Knowing that Cedric's death was the result of him winning the Triwizard Tournament alongside Harry, the boys use the Time-Turner to travel back to the first challenge of the Triwizard Tournament in 1994 and sabotage Cedric during the tournament's first task in the hope of preventing his victory. Instead, they only succeed in creating an alternate reality in which Ron and Hermione never married, and thus Rose was never born, and Albus was sorted into Gryffindor. Albus discovers that this was because they chose to disguise themselves as Durmstrang students, causing Hermione to become suspicious of Viktor Krum and go to the Yule Ball with Ron instead of Viktor. As a result, Ron never experienced the jealousy fundamental to his relationship with Hermione, fell in love with Padma Patil at the Ball, and eventually became married to her, having a son named Panju. Hermione, in turn, became a frustrated and mean professor at Hogwarts, teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts.
At around the same time, Harry's fear increases that Voldemort may return as his scar continues to hurt and as he has Voldemort-related nightmares. After speaking with a portrait of Dumbledore, and being told by centaur Bane that a "dark cloud" is around Albus, he becomes convinced that Scorpius is a threat to Albus and tries to have the boys kept apart at Hogwarts by forcing a reluctant Minerva McGonagall, now Headmistress of Hogwarts, to keep tabs on Albus using the Marauder's Map, threatening to shut down the school otherwise.
Albus and Scorpius's friendship is destroyed, but the two eventually reconcile after Albus steals Harry's old Invisibility Cloak from James Sirius (Albus' older brother), and after McGonagall refuses to enforce Harry's request. Harry himself is persuaded to relent after a conversation with Draco and Ginny. Meanwhile, Albus and Scorpius decide to make another attempt to use the Time-Turner to change Cedric's fate, this time by humiliating him during the Triwizard Tournament's second task. When Scorpius returns to the present day, however, Albus is not with him, and Scorpius finds himself in a reality in which Harry is dead, and Lord Voldemort rules the wizarding world.
Act 3
Scorpius discovers that - as a result of his actions - an embittered Cedric joined the Death Eaters and killed Neville Longbottom during the events of Deathly Hallows, preventing him from killing Nagini and allowing Voldemort to win the Battle of Hogwarts. With Harry now dead, Albus subsequently never existed, while Voldemort was able to completely consolidate power and transform the Ministry of Magic into a dictatorial regime. In the new timeline, Scorpius became a popular Head Boy and Quidditch star, helping the staff and students torment Muggle-borns. Dolores Umbridge became the new Headmistress of Hogwarts, and patrols the school with Dementors and a revived Inquisitorial Squad led by Scorpius. Draco Malfoy occupies Harry's old position as the Head of Magical Law Enforcement, using his post to encourage routine attacks on Muggles and bribe the Prime Minister to remain silent on the actions of the Death Eaters.
A powerful dark figure called "The Augurey" leads the Ministry of Magic. With help from Ron, Hermione, and Severus Snape, now the final members of a dwindling anti-Voldemort resistance movement, Scorpius is able to use the Time-Turner to prevent the interference of Albus and his past self and restore the events of the original timeline, the alternate Ron, Hermione, and Snape sacrificing themselves to the Dementors in order to allow him to do so. Scorpius reunites with Albus, and the two boys are eventually found by their parents, as well as Ron and Hermione. Following these events, Harry scolds Albus for his actions, but the two nevertheless begin to reconcile.
Realising the danger the Time-Turner poses and deciding their parents will continue to keep it (as Hermione had done in the Ministry of Magic), Scorpius and Albus attempt to destroy it themselves, but they are joined by Delphi Diggory. Scorpius realizes that Delphi was in charge of the Ministry of Magic in the alternate timeline (from her tattoo of the wings of a magical bird, which she says is called an Augurey), and she takes them captive, later revealing her intention of restoring the alternate timeline.
After the adults learn Albus and Scorpius were seen disappearing with Delphi, they confront Amos, only to discover Delphi is not his niece, but the daughter of Lord Voldemort and Bellatrix Lestrange. Delphi had placed Amos under a "confundus" charm. Searching her room, they discover she is following a prophecy that, if fulfilled, would lead to Lord Voldemort's return. Delphi takes the boys to the final challenge of the Triwizard Tournament, but Albus and Scorpius prevent her from acting, and Delphi uses the Time-Turner again to travel further back in time. She inadvertently takes the boys with her and then destroys the Time-Turner to leave them all stranded in time.
Act 4
Abandoned by Delphi, Albus and Scorpius discover they have been taken back to the night before Harry's parents were killed at Godric's Hollow (30 October 1981), and assume Delphi is planning to kill Harry before Voldemort attempts to do so (which severely weakens Voldemort). Albus and Scorpius write an invisible message on Harry's baby blanket, knowing in the present (which is now also the night of the anniversary of the death of Harry's parents, when he often looks for his blanket as it is the only physical memento he has), the blanket would become stained with love potion and expose the message to Harry.
Meanwhile, Draco reveals the Time-Turner was actually a prototype for a perfected model owned by him (it was made for his father), but they remain unable to rescue the boys due to their uncertainty over which time period they have entered. After Harry receives the message from the boys, he and his allies use Draco's Time-Turner to travel back in time to save them and stop Delphi. While waiting for Delphi, they deduce she intends to convince Voldemort to abandon his doomed attempt to kill Harry, ensuring her father's survival and allowing her to be with him.
Harry disguises himself as Voldemort using Transfiguration to distract Delphi, and after a struggle, the group manages to subdue her. Rather than killing Delphi, it is decided that she will be brought to Azkaban Prison. Lord Voldemort then appears and is oblivious to the presence of Harry and the group. The group allows the murder of Harry's parents to play out again, unwilling to risk the consequences of altering the past.
They all stand with Harry to watch the sad event replay. After returning to the present day, Delphi is sent to Azkaban. Albus and Scorpius now decide to be more active at Hogwarts, with Scorpius expressing interest in trying out for Quidditch and asking Rose on a date. Harry and Albus visit Cedric's grave, with Harry apologizing for his role in Cedric's death. Albus has also witnessed the death of a fellow student, Craig Bowker Jr. (the only current timeline murder in the play), who tried to intervene when Delphi held Albus and Scorpius captive on the Quidditch pitch.
Productions
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, a two-part play, was written by British playwright Jack Thorne based on an original story by Thorne, John Tiffany and Rowling. Some websites were listing all three as authors of the script but by 26 July 2016, the official web site for the play and many others (including the BBC) were listing Thorne as the sole script writer.
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is directed by John Tiffany with choreography by Steven Hoggett, set design by Christine Jones, costume design by Katrina Lindsay, lighting design by Neil Austin, music by Imogen Heap, and sound design by Gareth Fry. In addition, special effects were created by Jeremy Chernick, with illusions by Jamie Harrison, and musical supervision by Martin Lowe.
West End
Previews at the West End Palace Theatre, London began on 7 June 2016, with the official opening night for both parts on 30 July, and originally booking until 18 September 2016. Tickets went on sale to pre-registered priority bookers on 28 October 2015, with a public sale scheduled to commence on 30 October. In just under 8 hours of priority booking 175,000 tickets were sold for the world premiere production, with the play's booking period extended to January 2017. On commencement of the public sale booking was extended until 30 April 2017, with a further extension issued the same day to 27 May 2017.
Tickets for the opening performance were priced from £30 up to £130 for a ticket for both parts, although ticket resale agencies were selling seats for up to £3,000. Ticket resale has been banned by the producers, with tickets no longer valid if sold on. In mid-July 2016, the theatre began holding a ticket lottery at 1 pm each Friday, releasing 40 for sale on their website for "some of the best seats" in the theatre for the lowest price, advertised at £20 per part. For example, the "Friday Forty" tickets sold on 29 July 2016 were for performances on 3, 5, 6, and 7 August.
On 20 December 2015, initial casting was announced with Jamie Parker playing Harry Potter, Noma Dumezweni playing Hermione Granger and Paul Thornley playing Ron Weasley. The casting of the dark-skinned Noma Dumezweni as Hermione sparked fervent discussion, to which Rowling responded that Hermione's skin was never specified as white. Further notable casting includes Poppy Miller as Ginny Potter, Alex Price as Draco Malfoy, Sam Clemmett as Albus Severus Potter and Anthony Boyle as Scorpius Malfoy. The production features an overall cast of 42.
Broadway
The production began previews on 16 March 2018, officially opening on 22 April at the Lyric Theatre. Clemmett, Boyle, Dumezweni, Miller, Parker, Price and Thornley reprised their roles, from the West End. The theatre removed 400 seats from the auditorium and moved the entrance to 43rd Street. The production is produced by Sonia Friedman Productions, Sir Colin Callender, and Harry Potter Theatrical Productions. Tickets initially went on sale through Ticketmaster Verified Fan on 18 October 2017, for performances from 16 March through 18 November 2018. The New York Times estimates that it is the most expensive non-musical Broadway play ever, incurring $68 million in opening costs.
Melbourne
On 24 October 2017, the Michael Cassel Group announced that it will be producing the Australian premiere of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. The show will open on 16 January 2019 in Melbourne's Princess Theatre, where it will reportedly have an exclusive two-year residency. Presale tickets were released on 2 August 2018, selling more than 200,000 tickets in just four days, before the public sale tickets were released.
The 35 original Australian adult cast was revealed on 2 September and includes Gareth Reeves as Harry Potter, Paula Arundell as Hermione Granger, Gyton Grantley as Ron Weasley, Lucy Goleby as Ginny Potter, Sean Rees-Wemyss as Albus Potter, Tom Wren as Draco Malfoy and William McKenna as Scorpius Malfoy. The roles of the remaining supporting cast will remain unannounced until the show opens to "honour its 'keep the secret' message (and) to ensure the storyline doesn't slip out". The production will also feature seven child performers. Four boys will alternate the roles of Young Harry and three girls will portray Luna Potter.
Cast and principal roles
Notable West End replacements
- Harry Potter: Jamie Glover, Jamie Ballard
- Ron Weasley: Thomas Aldridge
- Hermione Granger: Rakie Ayola, Nicola Alexis, Franc Ashman
- Ginny Potter: Emma Lowndes, Susie Trayling
- Draco Malfoy: James Howard
- Albus Potter: Theo Ancient, Joe Idris-Roberts
- Scorpius Malfoy: Samuel Blenkin, Jonathan Case
- Young Harry: Jabez Cheeseman, Alfie Jones, Harrison Noble, Ben Roberts, Henry Cullinan-Hollihead, James Given, Ellis Joseph, Jack Burns, Tommy Bard
- Lily Potter: Phoebe Austen, Esme Grace, Hope Sizer, Ava Palmer, Ella Bright, Charlotte Pourret Wythe, Claudia Sutton, Lizzie Wells, Isabella Manca, Darcy-Summer Hannan, Ruby Bullock
Notable Broadway replacements
- Young Harry: Jack Hatcher
Script publication
Editions
Both parts of the stage play's script have been released in print and digital formats as Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Parts I & II.
The first edition, entitled "Special Rehearsal Edition", corresponded to the script used in the preview shows and was scheduled to be published on 31 July 2016, the date of Harry's birthday in the series and Rowling's birthday, as well. Since revisions to the script continued after the book was printed, an edited version was released on 25 July 2017, as the "Definitive Collector's Edition". According to CNN, this was the most preordered book of 2016.
Sales
In the United States and Canada, the book sold over 2 million copies in its first two days of release. 847,885 copies were sold during the book's first week of release in the United Kingdom. By June 2017, the book had sold over 4.5 million copies in the United States.
Critical reception
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child has received critical acclaim. Some audiences and critics have complimented the casting and performances, while many debate the quality of the piece and how it compares to entries in the main Harry Potter series.
Publications awarding five star ratings included The Independent, the London Evening Standard, The Stage and WhatsOnStage.com. The Telegraph also gave five, although "there are some quibbles," while The Guardian's Michael Billington awarded four stars.
Anthony Boyle's performance as Scorpius Malfoy garnered particular acclaim. WhatsOnStage.com wrote that "Boyle gives a career-making performance," while The Wall Street Journal described him as "the break-out performance". Variety's critic, Matt Trueman, agreed, writing, "it's Boyle who really stands out", and both Trueman and Henry Hitchings, in the Evening Standard, noted that his performance was sure to be a fan favourite.
Response within the Harry Potter fandom
The response to the play from the Harry Potter fandom was mixed. Some fans said the story seemed "like a work of fan fiction" and claimed that it diverged from previously established rules of the universe, criticising the script's characterisation. Some also took issue with the style and plot of the script, complaining that the Time-Turner storylines had already been used, as had Cedric Diggory's death, and that the writers were rehashing old storylines. These criticisms have led to some of the fandom rejecting the play as separate from the Potter canon. Some potential "plot holes" in the story have been highlighted, such as the likelihood of Lord Voldemort's infertility, the speed at which the Polyjuice Potion is created, the unexplained non-operation of the Fidelius Charm, and Cedric Diggory's dramatic turn to becoming a Death Eater.
However, some fans responded positively to the play and its characters, with Scorpius Malfoy being particularly popular. Some fans commented that the dialogue between the familiar characters was "spot on", celebrating it as a faithful continuation of the books. Others have noted that the play sheds light on some of the relationships between the characters, such as Harry and Dumbledore's. The response had been particularly positive among fans who watched the play on stage.
Identity of the "Cursed Child"
The play never explicitly states who the "Cursed Child" is. There are several possible answers, including Delphi, who is cursed by her parentage; Harry himself, whose difficult childhood is the subject of several flashbacks in the play and who must accept and relive the death of his parents to conquer Lord Voldemort; Albus, who at one stage Harry says he wished "was not his son" and can do no right in this father's eyes being "cursed" by the Potter reputation; Scorpius, who is rumoured to be Lord Voldemort's child and whose mother dies during the play; and Cedric Diggory, whose tragic death is a focus of the play, and whose death is also finally accepted as a necessary condition for future peace.
Awards and nominations
Original London Production
Original Broadway production
References
External links
- Official website
- Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on Twitter
Source of article : Wikipedia
0 Comments