Harry Potter and The Cursed Child is back in the West End

 “It’s time to believe in magic again” is the new by-line for the promotion of the return of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child to the West End stage and its long-awaited reopening does not disappoint. Indeed, the hiatus caused by the Pandemic seems to have freshened it and our third visit to the show left us even more excited by this extraordinary production. Many of the Year 4 cast have stayed on for another year and therefore bring a unique combination of thorough understanding and experience of the show with a freshness & eagerness that the enforced layout has created to tell this story. We know and expect the magic and illusions to be outstanding and they still are, we love the references to the story and characters films and books in this stage version but what now shines are the performances and acting which bring an emotional heart to the show and make every parent tingle at the thought of relationship with their children as they watch Albus, Scorpius and Delphi seeking to understand and have a relationship with their fathers. Are we all blinded by love?

The production scripted by John Thorne under the watchful eye of JK Rowling and directed by John Tiffany creates a  fresh new theatrical style, a two-part play (that must be seen together in sequence) that is a combination of spectacular magical illusion show, cleverly choreographed dance sequences with luggage, wands, and staircases and narrative description between characters, often in quiet long wordy speeches but which are very engaging and interesting. There are so many delightful details in the production that are joy to see from the swift choreographed scene changes with a swoosh of a cape, the spectacular flying sequences, and wonderful lighting design by Neil Austin which not only brilliantly hides the means by which the illusions are delivered but creates even small intimate spaces on a bare open stage.

The story depends quite heavily on knowing the back stories of the adults and having seen the
films or read the books (although two pages in the programme seek to feel the gaps for newcomers!) but Potter super fans will not be disappointed seeing familiar scenes and characters live. The familiarity with stories means scenes can be created with a minimum of setting allowing the audience to fill in the missing details from their own memories.  The Dursley’s cupboard under the stairs, the hut where Hagrid finds Potter, the girls toilet washing fountain, the Hogwarts headmasters’ study, the forbidden forest, the Triwizard tournament and Godric’s Hollow are all created with a minimum of props, but each atmospheric setting is created with a minimum of props and effort.

What makes the show special is the extraordinary number of special effects which recreate the magical world in front of our eyes without the aid of cameras and CGI! The Polyjuice transformation is truly magical, Transfiguration happens before our eyes, the Floo Network delivers characters in a flash, flying broomsticks rise off the stage, magic wands fire plumes of flames across the stage, the Ministry of Magic phone box disappearance is extraordinary, flying dementias descend on the stage and in auditorium and a Patronus illuminates  as it rises out of the stage. They live long in the memory and set new standards for cast and crew in theatrical staging.

Writer Jack Thorne and director John Tiffany weave all this together, takings JK Rowling’s original stories as a springboard background to tell a story about Father and Son relationships. The story picks up twenty-two years after the final battle and defeat of Voldemort with the characters grown up with their own families. We see the strained relationship between Harry Potter (a deeply troubled Jamie Ballard) and his son Albus (a nervously withdrawn Dominic Short) and between Draco Malfoy (a very serious James Howard) and his son Scorpius (a wonderfully funny Luke Sumner in his professional debut). Indeed, it is Scorpius who often dominates the scenes with the best written characterisation of the show obviously not relying on or fitting in with our prior knowledge of the characters. All are sharply contrasted with Thomas Aldridge’s Ron, more a buffoon than ever as he is always desperate to get in on the action that has left him behind.

There are strong performances from some of the female characters too. Michaele Gayle returns as Hermione and acquits herself well showing she is an accomplished actress. Lucy Mangan as Moaning Myrtle has a fun cameo role in part one and Kathryn Meisle is excellent as Professor Umbridge. Another critical character created for the stage show is Delphi, Amos Diggory’s niece, played by Madeleine Walker with a devilish appeal.

This is five hours of theatre that now must be watched in two sittings on a Wednesday , Friday , Saturday, or Sunday that deserves the multitude of awards it has earned. The Broadway version will reopen in November in a revised three- and half-hour version by cutting some of the back story scenes so can be seen in a single visit but as I watch the Palace Theatre original in two parts I appreciate the time, they take to tell the story, the chance to reflect on the action between each part and ultimately believe that the unique two-part version is fully justified. It is a wonderful piece of Theatre, at times like a Theme park stunt show merged with a therapy counselling session and is set to run and run here in London and I hope all round the world.

Nick Wayne

Five stars