Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - SPOILER THREAD

Okay, this has been bothering me and I've been trying to work it out ever since I saw the show, so if anyone could explain this it'd be much appreciated.

In the scenes that take place in/near the lake, we see some of the front of the stage open to reveal a pool of water, from which Scorpius and Albus emerge on a couple of occasions. How do they get in and out of the vat of water (or whatever the word is) underneath the stage without it all spilling everywhere? Is it some kind of U bend type thing? 

Two things after seeing the show today. Was in the front row of the Stalls so couldn't see the feet.

What was going on when Albus's wand got stuck in the ground?

. . . and how did Craig (was it?) dying play out on stage? I saw him bend backwards, but did he go into the ground or slide off backwards??!

So, it's been a day since I saw it all (and I've just finished reading this thread), and I want to jot down my thoughts before I forget anything. They're probably going to be in quite a random order. I will be repeating things other people have said, but can't always remember who said them, so, apologies.

I really liked the scene in the Ministry when Hermione referred to Voldemort as the 'Dark Lord' and the characters went mad. This was a lovely little touch because up until that point, I think, everyone referred to him as Voldemort (maybe so as not to fear him as he was now gone - reclaiming the name kind of), so when they heard 'Dark Lord' they were scared.

I, too, expected there to be a main character death at the end of Part Two, maybe Ginny?

The Hagrid bit with the blanket was just bizarre. I didn't get it. It got lots of giggles and sounds of bemusement. What was it meant to signify?

As other people have said, I was slightly disappointed in how much it relied on older characters. I wanted to see the main characters in their new lives, not revisiting their old ones. Someone slipped a spoiler in the other thread which I unfortunately read so I knew one of them was going to appear but the extent to which they did was disappointing.

Trolley witch's fingers look dreadful from the front row. I got to see how quite a lot of the tricks were done from that close, but not all. Even seeing how they were done didn't spoil them.

I've always found Harry quite unlikeable, and assumed that was to do with Daniel Radcliffe's portrayal, but after yesterday, I think it's just the character.

Whenever I see Jamie Parker out of character, he does nothing for me, but when I've seen him in character (only two shows) he's always extremely attractive.

With Voldemort walking down the stage and then into the audience I wondered if it might be better if the steps went down rather than up (and he just appeared from beneath the stage) so he appeared below all the characters rather than seeming to walk through the church tower. (I realise this would be problematic for the upper levels (never mind the water tank), but that scene was a bit odd).

Do you think they were avoiding having a younger girl character so that they avoided speculation of a romance, only to have there be speculation fall on the two boys.

When the dementors kiss Ron and Hermione, how long does it normally take? Ron was up in the air in no time, but Hermione seemed to take forever.

I would also have liked it to end with the hat in mid-air again.

Right, here goes. I've had a few days to process since seeing the show in Wednesday and I feel ready to give my opinions now. I have a feeling this is going to be quite a long post, but I'll try to keep it as concise as possible.



The good:

This is a masterpiece of design and theatricality. The set, costumes, lighting, and music are all perfect in their own way, simultaneously conjuring up a vision of a world that most of the audience is already very familiar with while also giving it a distinctive breath of fresh air that makes this theatrical interpretation unique. I really enjoyed the use of movement - using the capes in that way is so simple and so wonderful.

The effects are stunning. Several of them got applause, and it's well deserved - their design and execution are both flawless. Yes, the transfiguration at the end was not as smooth as the polyjuice in Part 1, and the novelty of the floo powder entrance starts to wear off a bit in Part 2, but I don't care about that when we are also given such novel and imaginative things as UV writing in the auditorium itself, or representing a patronus with blue flames. And those dementors are truly chilling, aren't they?

For the most part, the cast were excellent (see later for my thoughts on those who weren't). Jamie Parker doesn't get much to bite his teeth into in Part 1, but really shines come the emotional upheaval in Part 2, and exhibits his incredible talent in crafting a Harry Potter who is fully fleshed and just as flawed as we would expect him to be after what he has been through. Anthony Boyle, though, is the stand out for me. He brings Scorpius's quirks to life in a clear, yet never over the top, manner. He embodies everything that we would expect from a 'runt of the litter' Malfoy, and endears himself to us easily. I was also very impressed by Sam Clemmett, Paul Thornley, and Alex Price. I had mixed feelings about Noma Dumezweni - some moments were brilliant, presenting a mature and world-weary Hermoine, but there were also moments where her characterisation just didn't quite sit right with me, and I can't put my finger on why. She also had a tendency to mumble some of her lines, which none of the other leading cast did. Poppy Miller does what she can with the least well written of the leads - fantastic in Ginny's loud, confident moments, but fading a bit when she's being 'the voice of reason'. Of the supporting cast, Myrtle was perfect, and Dumbledore/McGonagall/Snape all very good.

I also really like the 'in character' announcements before the show and at intervals - a nice touch.

So, onto my criticisms:

The script. Hmm. Wonderful in places, disappointing in others. Some lines seemed completely wrong and broke my immersion in the show ('Voldemort Day'? Really? That just sounded ridiculous to me). Interestingly, I thought it delivered well in the most emotionally intense moments, but seemed to consistently fall down in the 'exposition' scenes.

The plot is fine - I'll forgive the time travel stuff just because it's such a common trope that it's not worth picking holes in for the millionth time. I could have done without a lot of the flashback/dream scenes - we get enough of a reference to previous events through the time travelling to the triwizard tournament and Godric's Hollow at the end, the stuff with Harry as a child just seemed like a cheap way to tap into our nostalgia. I am very much in the 'get rid of the Hagrid scene at the end' camp - completely ruined the emotional build up of the preceding scenes and (as others have noted) actually got a few titters as Hagrid nonchalantly throws the blanket that supposedly contains baby Harry over his shoulder. If you're going to fake holding a baby, at least wait until you're off stage to get rid of it.

I also had big problems with some of the cast - Esther Smith as Delphie was great in Part 1, but didn't manage the transformation in Part 2. To me it seemed she was doing the classic villain thing of 'talk loudly and slowly'. None of the craziness that we'd expect from the daughter of Bellatrix Lestrange. I do wonder, though, how much of that is down to direction and deliberately wanting to not make the character too dark for the sake of the younger audience members?

Hagrid looked great, but that accent was very dodgy. The worst though, was the actress playing Umbridge and Petunia. She got Umbridge's laugh right, but had none of the terrifying presence that Imelda Staunton brought to the role in the films. Imelda gave one of the best performances of any of those movies, and here we got a watered-down, barely defined version of the character. In addition, Petunia was too sympathetic for me - ok, we're seeing her softer side in the graveyard scene, but she didn't have any bite when she's berating Harry. In my opinion, Petunia needs that. This, in fact, highlights a broader point that I was constantly comparing actors to their film counterparts - having only read the last two books, the films informed the majority of my opinions about the Harry Potter universe, so while I didn't want to be making comparisons, knowing that this is a different interpretation, I just couldn't help it.

Finally, the one thing that has annoyed me the most from the moment it happened. The trolley witch says that she managed to prevent Sirius and the marauders, and Fred and George, from escaping the Hogwarts Express. We have seen that Albus struggles with magic and Scorpius isn't very confident. And yet, they apparently cast one random spell and are able to jump off the train without any problems. You're telling me that they managed to succeed where Sirius and the others, all much more accomplished Wizards, failed? No way. Forgive me for criticising such a minute plot point, but I just found it completely implausible.

Finally, I thought I'd weigh in on the queerbaiting thing. I was aware of the discussion about this before seeing the show, and as a gay man I kind of wanted there to be something between Scorpius and Albus before I went in. However, what I saw was perfect. The writing and acting of these characters interacting is just beautiful, and I felt that nothing was explicitly stated or denied between them and it was left completely down to interpretation. There were moments where I saw something between them that suggested something more than just strong friendship, but I can see how someone could say the opposite, and I think that's the best way to leave it.



OK, so there you have it. I realise that my criticisms may come across as very harsh, so I just wanted to say that I really did love these plays - the experience is quite something, and it's certainly an unforgettable piece of theatre. I'd love to revisit it in the future, and I'm pretty sure it will run forever. It certainly deserves to, at the very least as an example of just what can be possible in a theatre and how magical it can be.

I was up near the back of the Grand Circle, so my opinions may have differed if I'd been able to see facial expressions more clearly. I appreciate your point - this afternoon I spoke to a friend who's read all the books, and he also had different opinions to me. Clearly having only read the last two, and therefore basing my opinions mostly on the films, makes a bigger difference than I expected it to.

jgblunners I mean my recollection of the books might be completely wrong as it's so long since I read them. I just remember liking the scene in the Deathly Hallows film where Petunia looked slightly worried about Harry as it seemed more like her.



I wonder if it's meant to show that Hermione put up more of a fight or something. Who knows - it doesn't say anything in the script. I got a great view of the harness haha.

I think that the tall bald man is supposed to be Cedric, although it's never actually mentioned.

I saw this again on Saturday, after somehow winning tickets in the Friday Forty, and took my Mum to see it. While she enjoyed it, she did mention that she found a lot of the cast members were speaking very fast at many points in the show and so she'd felt she'd missed bits. They were definitely going at a much faster pace than when I saw it back in August - has anyone else noticed this?

Ron & Hermione went up with the Dementors at about the same time on Saturday, although I have seen it previously when she took much longer, so assumed it's not a staging decision.

Glad it's not just us that thought they'd sped up! Actually Scorpius seemed to not be too bad on Sat, he even seemed to have toned his performance down a bit in places which was interesting, but many other cast members were speeding through their lines.

You see I thought Boyle had got worse when I saw him (first saw it in July, then January) I thought he was using a strange voice at times (sometimes I couldn't understand him) and much preferred him earlier in the run.

*Apparates into the Spoiler Thread at long laat*

Finally saw it yesterday! Will be back with act thoughts later!

i remember when the dementors came out and i was so SHOOK

Best Actress in a Supporting Role : dementors
Best New Musical : dementors
Outstanding Achievement in Opera : dementors
Special Award : dementors
Best Entertainment and Family : dementors
Audience Award : dementors
Cured my Acne: dementors
Fixed my Dating Life : dementors
Saved my Grades : dementors

SHOOK.