“So I finally saw the new cast...“
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Fan Review July 2, 2017
Part I: Introduction and review on Jamie Glover as Harry Potter
Introduction
Thanks to a friend who won the Friday Fourty I saw the new cast for the first time on a sunny Sunday, July 2. Seated in row BB 23 in the stalls, right at the “Draco corner“ (as I call it in my mind) I couldn't believe my luck! I have seen the original cast several times already, I went to London in the middle of May just to catch them before cast change. It was hard to let them go. But I also was very excited to see new faces and I have read tumblr reviews on the new cast hungrily. As house elf Leo (he has grown a magnificent beard since I last saw him in May by the way) told me at the entrance to the foyer of the Palace Theatre, it was maybe good that I didn't come immediately after the cast change. Now the actors had a month to settle into their roles. In the following review I will note down some thoughts on differences and similarities between the portrayals of the original cast and the second cast, on outstanding performances and on small details which I happened to notice.
The Golden Trio
Harry Potter/Jamie Glover
So this is my personal opinion but I'll mark the day someone surpasses Jamie Parker's portrayal of Harry by dancing dressed only in a cushion cover and a tea cozy in the market place in my town. Really. I'll upload the video of it when it happens. For now I'll have to wait. I understand if it's said that you shouldn't compare actors that way but I'll do it anyway. You can portray a character in a different way or in your own way and nail it (like in my opinion Samuel did with Scorpius or Theo did with Albus). Or you play him in a way that doesn't live up to the character. And that's what happened with Jamie G. and Harry I think.
As I've read before on tumblr and I have seen it confirmed myself: he doesn't make the best of Harry's lines. There're so many places where Harry shines, but if you read through the script so seriously it just doesn't work. It makes Harry a kind of dull character as compared to Jamie P.'s version of him. What I think Jamie G. still doesn't get about Harry is his humorous, adventorous and angry side. It's like seeing a soft pastel picture after staring into a kaleidoscope of bright colours. What Jamie G. does very well in some scenes is showing Harry's pain. Especially the scene „how many had to die for the boy who lived“ between him and Ginny was very good. You could believe Harry is suffering. Then again Jamie P. has shown a deeper or different understanding of the character's fragility and suffering by displaying clear PTSD symptoms throughout the play by his body language. When I first saw it, as for example in the scene where Harry is sitting on the stairs, having a nightmare, clawing at his arm in that strange way in his half conscious state, I was shocked to see Harry in such a way. It deepened my own understanding of the character as someone who had survived such terrible things and is still suffering from them. It really helps the audience to sympathize with the character. Whereas Jamie G. was only playing asleep in that scene. (I wonder if Jamie P. came up with this extreme portrayal himself or if he got inspired by the books, where the “fits“ Harry experiences during his nightmares or visions are described.) Another point where Harry shows his pain is in the very last scene with Albus. Jamie G.'s way of talking was rather calm, whereas Jamie P.'s voice was trembling, showing how hard it is for him to open up to Albus about his innermost fears.
What else Jamie P.'s portrayal taught me more about adult Harry was that he still had his youthful energy and his adventorous spirit in him. The way he bursts into his office to tell Hermione about his successful raid on Nott, all enthusiasm and elation in his voice. When I saw and heard this for first time I thought “Wow! That's still Harry at 14 or 17. All excited about having just solved a riddle or having won a fight! That's him all right.“ Whereas Jamie G. more or less walks in and smiles contently at her as after having finished a Power Point presentation at an important meeting
So what else I felt was toned down was Harry's anger. Harry can get really shouty and blow up with anger. We know it especially from the books. This character trait was shown so well by Jamie P. in the ,,not my son“ scene with Albus that it was hard to watch. Again this was pretty toned down by Jamie G.
Staying with things that were hard to watch: Harry's/Jamie P.'s artificial cheerfulness when he got rejected and rejected by Albus all over again. Especially shortly before the “not my son“ incedent when after being rejected by Albus he still offers to help Albus to pack for Hogwarts. You see he knows he is failing, and he babbles on about packing for Hogwarts and how he enjoed it, but that Albus doesn't like it much. It's really heartbreaking to watch and hear that tone in his voice. It really shows how hurt he is but that he's still trying desperately. Again not used well by Jamie G. who could have made more of those lines. Especially when you think of how later Ginny tells Harry that Albus notices when he puts on a facade.
But most I was missing Jamie P's humour or Harry's moments that had potential to be amusing for the audience. When Jamie P. said that line about second years not wanting to be seen with their dads. All fond amusement in his voice. When he slid on his knees on the floor in front of Hermione's library when he was “Scorpius“. Or when he said “and you're still talking to me?“ to Ginny in a way that made the audience laugh. That was missing. Where Jamie G. and Jamie P. both got good laughs though was after the line “There're many things you're good at, Albus!“
Then I missed all the tender touches in the very last scene when they talk about Albus being good at heart. How Harry/Jamie P. touches his son's chest to emphasize what he is saying and how he playfully shoves him away when Albus proclaims he wants to go into pigeon racing. This scene is done differently by Jamie G. and Theo. Jamie G. doesn't touch him until the very last lines. Then he puts an arm around Albus' shoulder and Albus quickly stares down on Harry's hand on his shoulder all surprised. Maybe the new idea is to save it all up until the end.
So generally speaking I found Jamie G's performance of Harry much too stiff and serious. I don't know if this is his understanding of Harry or if he didn't find his way to Harry yet. I will look out for reviews on him, since I'm very curious how he still might develop his own version of Harry given time. You have other opinions on Jamie G. or saw him perform differently maybe? (I've seen him only once, so I don't have anything to compare one of his performances to another.) Please comment!
So I'm stopping for now, but I will continue with the other members of the Golden Trio next.