Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

by Jack Thorne

seen at the Palace Theatre on 28 November 2018

JohnTiffany directs this two part play based on 'an original new story' by J. K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and himself, which deals with events immediately following the epilogue of the last Harry Potter book - that is, events in the lives of Harry's children and their peers. As the plays have been running for some time now, the original London cast is no longer in action. Harry Potter is played by Jamie Ballard, Ginny Potter by Susie Trayling, Hermione Granger by Franc Ashman, Ron Weasley by Thomas Aldridge and Draco Malfoy by James Howard. In the younger generation, Albus Potter is played by Joe Idris-Roberts, Rose Granger-Weasey by Helen Aluko, Scorpius Malfoy by Jonathan Case and Delphi Diggory by Eve Ponsonby. The production is designed by Christine Jones.

At first, given this time frame and the initial scene-setting of a new generation attending the Hogwarts school, it seems as if the play might be misleadingly named, but later Harry's own participation and predicament receives more attention. In fact, even the earlier scenes are only tangentially reviving audience memories of Hogwarts, as attention focuses on the difficulties youngsters may have being the progeny of famous (or notorious) parents. The increasing richness of the play lies in showing this dilemma from both sides: the anguish and the uncertainty of the parents - really, more specifically, of the fathers Harry and Draco, are just as sympathetically portrayed as the rebellion and frustration of the sons (it has to be said that Rose, the child of the Granger Weasley marriage, is not a particular focus of attention).

There's something of an embargo on discussing the details of the plot, with which I am happy enough to concur even though the script was published in conjunction with the play's opening. It is another adventure with much for the characters to learn about themselves and their relationships, with solid questions about good and evil, friendship and loyalty, honesty and tolerance. The excitements of the story also carry some powerfully emotional scenes and revelations of character which give a perhaps surprising depth to the whole enterprise. Admittedly I attended a two-part session in the middle of the week, but it was noticeable that there were few children in attendance and yet the audience was totally absorbed.

Wisely, the show made no attempt to compete with the films in visual presentation. Instead, the imaginative use of lighting and the movement of parts of the set, with a pair of brilliantly used sliding stair-cases, and a large number of packing cases, created fluid set changes and at times breath-taking pieces of theatrical illusion and legerdemain. Supplementary props and bits of set completed the creation of the Potter world in engaging and convincing ways. One could forgive the lightly rushed establishment of the Hogwarts experience (the famous platform run at Kings Cross, the Sorting Hat, some sketchy classroom scenes) once the real plot got underway, and in the meantime the pivotal friendship between Albus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy began to develop.

The decision to set the play some two decades after the books and films helps enormously in giving everyone a free hand with the major characters. The older ones can be safely extrapolated from their appearance in the films - Harry worried and ill at ease with his responsibilities; Ron rather laid back and possibly even gone to seed; Hermione bossy and efficient; Draco using sarcasm and bluster to hide his insecurities - while the younger ones are completely new. Albus and Scorpius are both insecure, the former in a quietand often miserable way, the latter revelling in geekiness and at times hysterical self-deprecation. The perils of any other approach are shown in the presentation of various minor characters who are also important in the films: their appearance and style are fixed by the film performances but here they are played by other actors in danger of being either caricatures or pale imitations.

The stage and auditorium are large; the set is basically cavernous; the musical accompaniment pre-recorded and often loud. Inevitably the actors are all miked, and this is not always successful - there were several occasions when the sound wobbled distractingly. The actors were, on the whole, audible (occasionally the words were too rushed to be clear even with electronic assistance), but once again the technique tended to flatten spoken nuances and to leave too many people speaking loudly rather than projecting properly. This created difficulties for Jonathan Case in particular, as his opening scenes sounded already over the top leaving him nowhere to go as his predicament worsened. It's a tribute to his general skill that he managed to overcome this and to give a startlingly good account of this gawkily engaging teenager.

I expected to be entertained, and I was. I  had read the script but forgotten the details. I did not particularly expect to be moved, but, I am pleased to say, I found some scenes very moving. It will probably never be presented in an intimate environment, but it would be intriguing to know whether the script could be rendered even more powerful if we could hear the actors speak naturally rather than having them compete with the soundscape and the unsympathetic acoustics around them.