Cursed Child Pt 1 SPOILER FREE REVIEW
So many people have asked for a review or thoughts of the Part 1 Premiere show I saw yesterday and so I thought I should give my honest opinions without ANY spoilers and only being as detailed as I can without giving away anything not already spoken about in the pre-release leading up to the show.
Firstly, you can give a sigh of relief. This show follows the books style, originality and quick witted humour perfectly and the characters of Harry, Ron and Hermione are in more than capable hands! For me the books always held a more whimsical and less realistic approach to the wizarding world than the films which try to have that edge of believable realism and so the play has enabled the creation of some great scenes which I’m not so sure would be appropriate for film but work exclusively well for show. Cursed Child a more humorous feel than certainly some of the earlier films (of course not the later ones for obvious reasons!) is delivered by a hugely talented and broad range of cast members than just one or two shining stars and myself and the audience really felt connected to the in jokes happening on stage as well as the more endearing moments and the overall twisting plot before us.
As I said earlier the roles of Harry, Ron and Hermione are in more than capable hands and I personally feel that Parker, Thornley and Dumezweni are truly the perfect trio with the same chemistry, the same fluent to-and-fro deliveries, retorts and jokes incorporating their history within the 7 books (8 films) and as a viewer you can believe they have been together from the beginning and the experiences they encountered together. There’s a strong sense of a past known only so well to us.
For me Noma Dumezweni had the biggest shoes to fill as Hermione Granger was always my favourite of the trio and I think she’s smashed all my expectations and truly is the embodiment of Hermione. Whatever people have been saying or commenting on the differentiation from the film to the show in terms of the physical depiction of Hermione for me it was about the character and as I say she is superb and I instantly felt comfortable watching her with the same enthusiasm as I would Emma Watson or reading Miss Granger in the books. She’s clever, sassy with a drop of bossy…she’s definitely back and the same character we all love!
Thornley also embodies the same funny, state the obvious and familiar Ron that I’ve also come to love and in his worn Weasley like sweater he really does give a great performance and shares the same cheeky chappy attitude and friendship with Harry seen throughout the series. He may be older but his cheeriness and laid back attitude are surely not faded.
For me Parker is the biggest surprise and I can’t stress enough just how fantastic he is in this role. He isn’t playing Harry 19 years later. He IS HARRY POTTER 19 years later. He feels like the boy who lived, he really did face Voldemort, face a life time of adventure and now he’s grown up, working forward with his ministry job and now having Hogwarts attending children. Personally he was my highlight from the cast within the show and I believe he is Harry and he portrays the raw emotions and expressions we Potterheads are used to not to mention that famous scar and those round lense glasses. Part of my anticipation for Part 2 is seeing Parker in his fantastic role again and to see further where he takes the character of the favourite (boy-now-man) wizard!
Other members such as Poppy Miller (Ginny) and Alex Price (Draco) are also superb imbuing their characters and giving great performances and interacting alongside the ‘golden trio’ with expert skill and of course not forgetting the new kids on the block in the form of Cherelle Skeete (Rose), Anthony Boyle (Scorpius) and the youngest son of the wizard who lived himself Sam Clemmett (Albus). All play their characters with depth and sustained energy, enthusiasm and without giving anything away it’s nice to see them each be able to play and act with real depth and passion.
This is a show where every main and chorus member alike feels needed and all give the upmost, best performance they possibly can and I am confident to say JK Rowling and the casting director Julia Horan CDG have worked very well on delivering such a great and honestly perfect cast that don’t just seem to be there for a job they love the Potter world as much as we do!
For me there is one element which pulls the whole thing together and that is the set, music, costume and special effects. The sets are stunning and truly beautiful, the music is Potteresque while being new, emotional and spine tingling and the costumes help take simple actors from our world to the wizarding world in beautiful textured, coloured and crafted wizard/witches’ robes. This all adds to the formula and with the actors taking centre stage combines to deliver a performance within the theatre setting creating an ambiance and energy in a very different format to the films,  wonderful in their own way. The special effects and lighting are honestly too, out of this world. The behind the scenes directors have really created a sense of magic throughout the entity of the first half and left me and the audience shocked, surprised, oooing, ahhing, gob smacked and utterly perplexed as to how they did some of the most incredible things first ever attempted within a stage show. Each and every trick and moment of ‘magic’ within the play leaves you wanting more and more and you’ll wonder when and how they had time to do it! Even with a few rewatches of the show I think I’ll be scratching my head as to how they have managed to create such wonderful moments of intrigue and quite honestly not knowing makes it even that bit better!
Many people will think I am biased, however I hold my hands up I was also very sceptical whether JK was overstepping the mark with this ‘extension’ of the wonderful world we have read and reread so much and many times. However, I can now confidently say that what Rowling has done follows on perfectly from the world she originally created, demonstrates the detail and close affection and understanding she has for her characters and her power at story telling in collaboration with Jack Thorne and John Tiffany. It’s the world we will love forever, just revisited after that final chapter within Deathly Hallows and creates a future for Potterheads to be excited to see……as am I to see Part 2 and with less than 24 hours to go I am frantically counting down the seconds after the cliff hanging I was left with once the dark curtain fell!
I hope you liked my review however brief and spoiler free, the main point I’m trying to make is that it’s fantastic and you shouldn’t be discouraged from seeing it by anyone! My mum accompanied me who hadn’t read a single book or film (a muggle I know) and she absolutely loved it from the acting to the special effects! If a Muggle can love it as much as she did then you’ve got no problem! Just remember....#KeepTheSecrets