Hey readers!
It's time for my review of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.
I have waited since last March to see this! This is the longest I have ever had to wait to see a show after booking tickets. Hamilton will soon break this record, as I booked tickets for that the other day and won't be going until next January! There is SO MUCH to say about the show, where do I even begin? I was absolutely blown away by the creativity of the show. The show has been fantastically put together. There is a lot of hype surrounding the play and to answer the question that is on everyone's lips, it does live up to this hype. I can definitely why it was made into a play, as opposed to a film, because I think it would've lost its magic on the big screen. It was a great idea to split the show into two halves as they were able to take time to introduce us to the characters and then be able to introduce many plot twists. One part would not be completely without the other. It all fits together like a puzzle. I'll start with the creative aspects of the show and then move onto the storyline. The set design was not as complex as I imagined it to be, however that did not weaken it whatsoever. With only few set pieces here and there changing it as able to change location many times; the set design worked very well for the show. I thought the lighting was excellent and it was definitely one of the highlights of the show. The lighting designer, Neil Austin, has done a spectacular job. Sadly, I was not a huge fan of the costume design. It felt very hit and miss, with some being great and some looking unprofessional. Two prime examples of this are Hermione and Ginny's costumes, which didn't seem right. The physical theatre aspect of the show surprised me, as I didn't expect this to be the type of show to use it, but to my surprise it worked well. All physical theatre parts were excellently choreographed and they were carried out by the cast perfectly. The illusions were amazing, especially when the wizards enter a telephone box and are able to disappear. I'm still not 100% sure how that was done. The video projections, used during time travel scenes, were great. The video projections have been nominated for a Whatsonstage Award and deservedly so! I thought that the storyline was very strong. A LOT happens, so the audience must stay thoroughly focused throughout. There was so much time travelling that it left me wondering how many alternate universes they'd created! The two parts overall are over 5 hours and you go with the characters on a major journey. So much happens and it is great to witness these characters for this amount of time. I preferred Part 2, as Part 1 took a little while to get going as that part has the job of getting the storyline going. There are some heartfelt moments throughout Part 2 that really touched me. The only major bad part about the storyline and the writing is that there were certain lines of dialogue which came across as a little bit cringey. The first that comes to mind is the conversation that takes place between Ron and Hermione in an alternate universe where they are not married. Onto a major aspect of the show... the cast! Sam Clemmett, as Albus Severus Potter, gets better and better as the show goes on. He is one of the two lead characters and by the end of the play I understood the character's struggles, his motivations and why he made the choices he made. Anthony Boyle, as Scorpius Malfoy, was AMAZING! He gives one of the best performances, in a play, that I have seen throughout the whole year. He steals the show from every single one of his co-stars, he outshines them all! Not enough praise can be given to his performance, it is a masterclass. The character of Delphi Diggory, played by Esther Smith, originally starts out as being really sweet and nice, but in Part 2 we find out she is the antagonist of the play. I really did not guess this whatsoever originally and that is because Esther played the role so well. Jamie Parker, as Harry Potter, certainly does the role justice. He displays that Harry has badly suffered and this is is achieved through impressive acting skills. It is clear, even to those who have not read the book, that Harry has seen many tragedies. Ginny Weasley, portrayed by Poppy Miller, uses her stage time well and she is exactly how I imagined an older version of Ginny to be. I've heard a little bit about the acting from the show from a forum I use, but I hadn't heard anything about Alex Price as Draco Malfoy, which surprises me because he was utter perfection in this role and was a real standout. Alex Price is stunning in this role. Paul Thornley was hilarious in the role of Ron Weasley. He was another cast member who really stood out and he provided some great moments of comic relief. I'm about to say something which I don't think will make me very popular, but I wasn't keen on Noma Dumezweni in the role of Hermione Granger. Perhaps I missed out on something, as she generally received praise. I just felt she came across on stage as very awkward and she doesn't seem quite right for the role. I didn't expect Severus Snape to be in the show, but there he was! The portrayal of him by Paul Bentall was amazing. He doesn't have a large amount of stage time, but Paul Bentall really put his mark on the character and I was raving about his performance after the show. Two other cast members who stood out were Chris Jarman as Hagrid and the Sorting Hat and Barry McCarthy as Amos Diggory and Albus Dumbledore. The only other negative thing I have to say about the show is that I was disappointed at the amount of latecomers that were let in. People are late, I understand that, however they should have either waited for a blackout point during the show or had a 15 minute cut off point. For the first 30 minutes there just seemed to be more and more latecomers with people having to get up during initial scenes. There are some people I have seen online that have referred to this show as a "theme park show". That is absolute rubbish! The show has a top story, with a talented cast and fantastic creative aspects. There is nothing more that I could wish for, for a show.The featured star of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is, drum roll please... ANTHONY BOYLE!
There is a lot of praise about Anthony Boyle's performance and it still doesn't seem enough. At the end of the play, to me it felt like the show had revolved around Scorpius Malfoy and I think it is because the performance was so wonderful. I cannot imagine this being done by any other actor, Anthony is seriously amazing!
Now for my final verdict on Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. I give Harry Potter and the Cursed Child...
I give this rating because it was everything that I'd hoped it would be. The muggle's did well with this one! ;)
Agree with my rating? Think it should have got a lower rating? If so comment below.
Join me next time when I will be reviewing Brexit the Musical.
Thanks for reading!
-The Reviewer
P.S: A new record has been broken, that was my longest review of all time!
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