“things change, and we change with them”
in the midst of shows closing early, and casts changing, and loved faces leaving and new faces coming, i wanted to write something about harry potter and the cursed child.
i haven’t been majorly involved with the fandom in this new year, or even with the production in general, but even now, at peace with the knowledge that i’ll never see it again, it still really does mean a lot to me.
on the 11 of september 2019, i walked into the palace theatre with zero expectations. me and my mum were sat high up in the stalls, but pretty central, looking down on all the suitcases and the clock on the floor. i bought my programme, uploaded a photo to instagram, and sat back, truly not expecting anything.
the first thing that got me was the music. it was so...loud. and the noise of the train was just extraordinary. i had asked my mum before it started if she thought they had an orchestra, and neither of us knew, but when the train came barrelling through i had my answer. they didn’t, but that didn’t matter. the potters emerged, and the granger-weasleys, and bad jokes were told, and a scene i had already seen played out in front of me. it was good, not incredible, but it was good.
and then a lanky boy in a blonde wig (and trust me, the wig is important) was rolled onto the stage. i leant forward, a part of me realising straight away that this, this is the reason why i’m here. it’s been a long time since i’ve truly found a character i’ve seen myself in. and scorpius malfoy, alone, reading...11 year old scorpius malfoy was 11 year old me. i guess he was probably all of us.
jk rowling will never truly know the impact of creating scorpius malfoy. mainly because all of us see something in him that she never will. i’m not unique in saying this, but he truly is one of the best characters in the harry potter stories. I am so eternally grateful for luke sumner’s performance, it has changed my life.
i’m also not going to sit here and wax poetic about how i was entranced with every single second. part four was, to put it lightly, long. and maybe it would have been different not sat at the top of the theatre, but that’s where i was, and my neck was cramped and my legs were uncomfortable, and frankly i just wanted them to wrap it up. draco malfoy emerged as my favourite of the adult characters, along with ginny. and the parts with the golden trio were definitely my least favourite. the story isn’t perfect, when looked at head on it is dumb, and these complaints about it are completely valid. but when you’re sat in the theatre, and literal magic is performed in front of you, you can sort of forgive it.
and then there’s always the common complaint. that it’s a love story denied to those who truly deserve one, but this isn’t the post for that.
harry potter and the cursed child blew me away, it gave me a new favourite fictional character, it gave me some beautiful music to listen to whilst i study, and it gave me new friends and people to chat to about a thing i love. it also finally got me writing fic, a thing i thought would never happen, and i’m really glad that i did. I wrote more words in two weeks in september than i think i’ve ever written in my life.
and then there’s the casts. i never got to see nicholas podany as albus, or bubba weiler as scorpius, or even jonathan case, but they have each shared their beautiful thoughts about this show with the world, and their dedication and love for their characters is heartbreaking and lovely and i’m so glad people like them got to play these characters, and i wish them all the best in the future.
so, in the midst of all this sadness, and change, and moving on, i just wanted to dedicate a post to the show that changed my life.
romaincrisis
areudirty
blakekathryn
tangentwithtanner
kianamaiart
