Harry Potter and the Cursed Child has been playing in London for three weeks, and the verdict is clear: It’s a massive hit with attendees. Beware of opinions.
Note: There are NO SPOILERS for Cursed Child in this article, but if you don’t even want to know what people — including this writer — thought about the experience overall, this is not for you.
Cursed Child, the Harry Potter stageplay and official ‘eighth story’ in the J.K. Rowling saga, has been in previews since June 7. Its world premiere is July 31, with the script book being made available worldwide on the same date.
A number of Hypable staff members managed to secure tickets for the first ever showing on June 7 and 9, and have since participated in the online discussion of both the overall experience and the specific plot developments in more-or-less spoiler-free ways.
We’ve got spoiler-free text and podcast reviews, and both MuggleCast and Hype Podcast have recorded spoiler breakdowns for those who’ve seen the play and want to discuss it with fellow fans, or those who’ve read spoilers and want to know what the experience of the play is actually like.
Meanwhile, Harry Potter fans have been sharing their initial thoughts to the experience on both Tumblr and Twitter, and the reactions have been almost unanimously positive. Even Mark Hamill himself was impressed.
Here’s a small sample of raving Twitter reviews from happy theatergoers (and oh! A wild Rebel Wilson appeared):
If you can magically get tickets, please see HARRY POTTER in the West End. So brilliant & imaginative! pic.twitter.com/cZ3nnd3uz4
— Rebel Wilson (@RebelWilson) June 25, 2016
The sheer creativity, lovingly drawn characters and jaw-dropping illusions make @HPPlayLDN a magical treat. And that's just Part 1 Act 1.
— Alan Ayres (@meedya) June 28, 2016
@HPPlayLDN and @jk_rowling thank you, for the best thing I've ever seen, I just wish I could do it all over again!! #KeepTheSecrets
— James Cook (@JamesCook9) June 28, 2016
I'm certain that @HPPlayLDN is the best show I've ever seen #magicisreal #KeepTheSecrets #theatrenerd #HarryPotterAndTheCursedChild
— PhilippaJG (@PhilippaJG) June 29, 2016
@HPPlayLDN #TheCursedChild was PHENOMENAL! If you don't see this you're truly missing out ! #KeepTheSecrets pic.twitter.com/OaBDjVwWSp
— Terry Townson (@TheLifeOfTT) June 18, 2016
@HPPlayLDN wow the play just took my breath away it was amazing #KeepTheSecrets
— ️ (@cedricdiggorys) June 16, 2016
@HPPlayLDN preview tonight was absolutely magical from start to finish. Stunning performance? #KeepTheSecrets pic.twitter.com/vi83KS5vBK
— Aisling (@aislinglally) June 11, 2016
Just finished watching @HPPlayLDN Part 1. It was absolutely amazing, that staging is just… Wow. ⚡️ #KeepTheSecrets
— RTbeX 2016 (@bexrayandvav) June 16, 2016
Thank you @jk_rowling & @HPPlayLDN for a magical and perfect theatre experience! Definitely worth the trip from Canada! #KeepTheSecrets
— Ray House (@raynahouse) June 14, 2016
What’s great about this immense outpouring of positivity is that it serves as a much-needed counter-spell to the overwhelmingly negative reactions to the Cursed Child spoiler breakdowns that began hitting the web after the first preview performance.
As someone who has seen the play, and who has been very outspoken about my disappointment with the plot, I can absolutely attest to the play being mind-blowing, phenomenal, life-changing, beautiful, etc. The acting, the production, the emotional resonance and the relationships are all top-notch. I recommend everyone, including the skeptics, to watch the play live if they can, and I can almost guarantee that you’ll be as blown away as I was.
And I’d love to join the chorus of play attendees telling their fellow fans to stop being so negative, because the play itself is fantastic. Everyone standing up for the play, and everyone insisting that plot breakdowns are underselling the overall experience, are right.
Related: Dear J.K. Rowling: Please make The Cursed Child available to all
The problem, of course, is that the vast majority of Harry Potter fans won’t be able to share in the actual experience of Cursed Child. They won’t get to see Anthony Boyle slay as Scorpius Malfoy; they won’t be blown away by the magic or the music or Noma Dumezweni. They’ll just have the very plot that has fans so up-in-arms on social media.
And that makes this entire ‘eighth story’ situation feel bittersweet at best.
As one attendee writes on Tumblr, “What may sound funny or ridiculous on page works so well live.” Another adds, “The idea on paper may seem weird, but it actually works really well on stage.” Yet another says, “Seeing the play itself put everything in context and everything worked and made sense.”
In this context, J.K. Rowling’s #KeepTheSecrets plea makes a whole new kind of sense. Focus on the positives. Don’t share the plot spoilers, because they’ll leave a bad taste in your mouth, and you wouldn’t want the Cursed Child experience ruined for the people who’ll actually get to see it live. You wouldn’t want everyone working on the production — most notably the phenomenal actors — to feel like the job they do every night isn’t appreciated or applauded.
But what happens on July 31, when the story is let out into the world without the context these fans are so intent on everyone else appreciating? What happens when the script falls into eager fans’ hands, who couldn’t care less about the magical staging and phenomenal acting? Is #KeepTheSecrets all about getting enough fans to London to see the play live, in order to be able to stand up for it when the story is released? Is that why the preview period is so long?
Of course, the jury’s still out on whether the script book will manage to contextualize the plot points so hard to swallow in synopsis form. I’m still hoping the character moments will overshadow the major plot issues that are currently enraging everyone who’s reading spoilers, but I’m honestly not convinced.
Based on fandom reactions to in-depth spoiler breakdowns, I’m just not sure the plot can stand on its own; there’s a reason J.K. Rowling insisted this story had to be a play, and why she was averse to the script book being published at all. But considering the medium of Harry Potter has always been novels — putting story over visuals by default — asking fans to swallow the overall Cursed Child experience when most will only get to read the script seems like a losing battle.
Related: Why J.K. Rowling’s opinion on Cursed Child spoilers shouldn’t matter
To me, the experience of Cursed Child on stage and its on-paper value as ‘the eighth story’ could not be more divorced from one another. While I adored the experience, my need for the Harry Potter universe to make sense and for the story to live up to the book series simply overrides my appreciation for a good day at the theatre.
So, when fans tell each other, “You need to see the play to understand,” that’s inherently problematic, because the Harry Potter fandom has never before encouraged this borderline elitist division between those who are able and wealthy enough to experience a new Harry Potter story the way it was meant to be experienced, and those who aren’t.
This has all just left the Harry Potter fandom in a weird place. Official channels are asking/telling/demanding that play attendees are keeping mum about the plot, while encouraging them to share their positive reactions to the theater experience. Which most won’t ever get to have.
I suppose the takeaway from all of this is simple: If you get the chance to watch Cursed Child live, take it. And, if you’re waiting for the script book, do and feel however the heck you want — just try to remember that this was never meant to be a book. It was meant to be a visual, partially exclusive experience. And in that format, it works beautifully.
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