Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Theatre Production – My Review!

Hi all!

Today is a very exciting post! On Mother’s Day (May 9th) I went to see Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on stage in Melbourne. I was meant to go in 2020 but we all know what happened there! In this post, I am going to be sharing with you my personal thoughts/opinions on the production in the hopes that it will push you to book your own ticket! Without further ado, let’s get into it.

A SPOILER-FREE PLOT SUMMARY 

19 years have passed since The Battle of Hogwarts. Voldemort has fallen and peace has been restored to the wizarding world. Harry, Ron and Hermione have all grown up and their children are starting at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Much to Harry’s dismay, his son Albus is sorted into Slytherin and befriends Scorpius Malfoy, the child of his lifelong enemy, Draco. As Albus and Harry struggle to understand one another, a top-secret Time Turner falls into the Ministry of Magic’s possession. Hearing the rumours, Amos Diggory requests a private audience with Harry, begging him to use the Time Turner and save his son Cedric from death. Harry lies about the Time Turner’s existence but Albus overhears and decides to travel back to The Triwizard Tournament with Scorpius, to right his father’s wrongs. From there, chaos ensues. Not only is Harry’s son in peril, his scar is hurting again and that can only mean one thing…the Dark Lord is on the rise.

HOW THE SHOW WORKS 

The stage production is split into two parts. You have the option to see both on the same day, on different days or just one or the other. If you want my honest opinion, I would see both on the same day. It’s a long session, and you’ll probably be exhausted by the end, but it’s so worth it. For us, Act 1 started at 2pm and went till 4:45pm, with one 15 minute interval. You then get a big break for dinner before Act 2 begins at 7:30pm. It ended at 10pm with another 15 minute interval in between. Make sure you bring snacks, stay hydrated and enjoy every moment.

Covid Protocols: This will vary depending where you are in the world but in Melbourne, we had to check in for Act 1 and 2 (via a QR code for contact tracing), sanitise our hands upon entering the theatre and wear a mask for the entire production. Make sure to buy the program (featured above). It is a beautiful keepsake with stunning artwork from the show. 

MY THOUGHTS/OPINIONS 

I cannot even begin to describe how phenomenal this show was. Never in my life have I seen a production with so many special effects. The cast use their cloaks to subtly change the scenery and manipulate the viewers eye. There were so many jaw-dropping moments that had me gasping. I couldn’t work out how they made certain things happen. The transitions between scenes were effortless and the time-travel was so believable, I felt like I was part of the action. The actors were all excellent but the absolute standout was Scorpius Malfoy. He was so charming, goofy, sweet and funny. The friendship between him and Albus Potter was so pure. I loved how flawed Harry was as a father. He struggled just like any Muggle to connect with his child. It was great getting to see so many beloved characters from the original franchise. I know that the screenplay caused a lot of controversy among fans but it’s important to understand two things: 1.) do not compare The Cursed Child to the seven Harry Potter books that came before it. It will never live up to them so try to treat it as its own individual entity. 2.) this story may not appeal to everybody but it is a bonus treat for those of us that wanted more after The Deathly Hallows. Enjoy it for what it is. I would not recommend bringing young children. The show gets progressively darker and quite scary. It’s also worth noting that if you haven’t read the screenplay, you will need to pay attention to understand what is going on. There is a lot of dialogue and moving parts. It’s not complicated but when the time-travel comes into play, it becomes more intricate. I would love to see it again. It was truly a magical experience.

Thank you so much for reading! I hope you get a chance to see the production if you haven’t already. Have you seen it? What did you think?

Peace & Love xoxo