Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is opening for previews this week, and J.K. Rowling is urging early attendees to keep their mouths shut about spoilers.
This is it, the greatest test social media fandom has ever faced.
On Tuesday, June 7, the preview performances of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child will begin in London. Hypable will be there. Your neighbor will be there. Your Drarry shipper friend whom you met on Livejournal in 2004 will be there. And, most worryingly, tabloid media who cares nothing about the integrity of fandom will be there.
It’s almost impossible to imagine that somehow, everyone will keep their collective mouth shut about what happens in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child from now and until July 31, which is when Cursed Child hosts its World Premiere, and the script book goes on sale to the public.
Related: Will Rose, Albus and Scorpius be the new trio in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child?
Yet we must keep the secrets protected from social media. We must protect the secrets of Cursed Child ahead of its mass release, just as we zipped up about The Force Awakens and Civil War. Unlike TV show spoilers, which usually go out after an episode airs (if only by minutes), most Harry Potter fans don’t actually have the chance to experience this story for themselves until the script is published.
With one day left until the first audience gets to experience Cursed Child, J.K. Rowling has reiterated the need to #KeepTheSecrets via a series of compelling tweets:
This is a big week for all of us who’ve worked on Harry Potter and the #CursedChild. Real audiences are about to see it for the 1st time!
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) June 6, 2016
Potter fans have always had each other’s backs. Today I’m asking you to #KeepTheSecrets of #CursedChild https://t.co/0Vbl3zwN6b
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) June 6, 2016
This isn’t about ticket sales: we’ve been sold out for ages* #CursedChild #KeepTheSecrets
*but look out for the #FridayForty!
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) June 6, 2016
You’ll be able to buy the published play from 31st July, so the story of #CursedChild will be available to everyone #KeepTheSecrets
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) June 6, 2016
We simply want everyone who’s bought a ticket to #CursedChild to enjoy the onstage surprises #KeepTheSecrets https://t.co/0Vbl3zwN6b
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) June 6, 2016
J.K. Rowling reminds her followers that, “This isn’t about ticket sales, we’ve been sold out for ages. We simply want everyone who’s bought a ticket to enjoy the onstage surprises.” In the video message, she emphasizes that she wants “audiences to enjoy Cursed Child with all the surprises that we’ve built into the story.”
The on-stage surprises, of course, include which houses Rose Granger-Weasley, Albus Potter, and Scorpius Malfoy are sorted into. The plot itself, and the nature of the ‘cursed child,’ are also huge mysteries.
With Rowling promising that Cursed Child will make us cry, we’re also worried that one of the secrets we’ll be tasked to keep will be a major character death. Not only is that extra worrying because it would be awful, but it’d also be a real tempting headline for a news site.
For Hypable’s part, we’ll reveal nothing about Cursed Child in a headline, or insinuate anything in a featured image. Any minor spoilers we might post will be buried under a hefty spoiler warning.
If you’re very worried about spoilers, we recommend looking into spoiler-censoring apps and website plugins. Unspoiler is a good one for Google Chrome, with Spoiler Shield a decent option for mobile devices. You can also share your own spoiler-avoidance tips in the comments to help out fellow fans!
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