Last summer, I was one of the lucky few to get tickets to see Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Whilst I must admit there were a couple of issues with it, I still completely loved it! However, since the book version came out, I’ve been seeing a lot of negative opinions about it online, which I think has a lot to do with the differences in experiencing it for the first time in book format in comparison to a play. Here’s why I believe Cursed Child has to be seen in the theatre to be fully enjoyed.
The experience of seeing Cursed Child in the theatre begins even before the play starts. The Palace Theatre, grand and imposing with its velvet furnishings and warm lighting lends itself to an awe-inspiring atmosphere even before you spot what’s on stage. It can only be Platform 9 3/4, with suitcases lined up neatly and a cutout of a clock on the back wall.
“There’s no post-production special effects, no green screens”
And then the play begins. The magic only intensifies from here. Within the first 10 minutes of the show, characters change costumes in the blink of an eye, spinning around to be suddenly in their Hogwarts robes, eliciting a gasp from the astonished audience. With carefully choreographed routines, moving sets, and some Polyjuice potion scenes that leave you scratching your head as to how they did it, Cursed Child shows the wizarding world in a whole different medium than that we’ve ever seen before. Arguably, this is the most magical medium we’ve ever seen. There’s no post-production special effects, no green screens, everything that happens is live on stage in front of you, and all of it is mind-blowing.
“One issue that can’t be ignored, however, is the disappointing writing of Ron’s character”
Now admittedly, there was certainly some issues with the writing in Cursed Child. The rules of time travel significantly deviated from those outlined in Rowling’s original novels, however the play can still be enjoyed if you can overlook this. One issue that can’t be ignored, however, is the disappointing writing of Ron’s character, reduced from the witty, brave, well-rounded character we know and love, to a bumbling sidekick, who was just as lacklustre on stage as he is in book format.
“Some aspects [were] hammed up just to appeal to the die-hard Potter fans”
The play also has a bit of a ‘fan-service’ feel to it, with some aspects hammed up just to appeal to the die-hard Potter fans in the audience rather than relishing the new story and characters. The inclusion of Snape in one of the flash-back scenes was a particularly poignant example of this, which was just not the same without the late Alan Rickman’s iconic portrayal.
“To fully experience Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, it has to be seen in the theatre”
In conclusion, to fully experience Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, it has to be seen in the theatre. Despite being marketed as the ‘eighth book’, it is a play, and consuming it in book format doesn’t do the story justice. Dialogue and stage directions alone don’t provide the depth and emotion needed to immerse yourself in the wizarding world. Director and actors are required to bring what is otherwise a rather ‘flat’ experience to life, which they did wonderfully, and simply reading the book is nowhere near the experience of seeing it on stage.
9/10 – Unmissable, almost perfect
Emma Pallen
Image credit: Jeffrey Smith via Flickr.
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