Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Review!

Jondee here at King’s Cross,

I took the Veritaserum, No Spoilers! basic plot and characters.  The story was by J.K. Rowling, but the new play is by Jack Thorne with John Tiffany also noted as a writer. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is divided into two parts with two acts each. The play begins in 2017 where the Harry Potter series ended introducing us to Albus Potter, whom his family calls Al. All signs point to him as the Cursed Child of the title, but then again you may have not read any of the Harry Potter books. He is taunted by his older brother, James, and his younger sister, Lily, is eager to go to Hogwarts. We also get Ron and Hermione and their child, Rose, and there is a  a younger brother Hugo, but he may not have a strong role to be in the play. Draco Malfoy was also at the train station with his wife, Astoria, but his son, Scorpius, is introduced later. There was also some clever lines by Ron in Deathly Hallows, but sadly, he is a minor character in the play. At first, it looks like the Hogwarts Express will pair Rose with Albus since they grew up together, but he has found a friend in Scorpius. The scenes at Hogwarts flash by, it is really about Albus struggling to come out of his famous father’s shadow at home. Harry doesn’t console his son immediately and the distance increases between them. Draco is concerned about his son since there are rumors that his wife was with Voldemort so she could have Scorpius, Harry dismisses the rumors.

There is also the work life of Harry Potter, now Head of Magical Law Enforcement at the Ministry of Magic. He has to deal with trolls and giants that are starting to move. Harry is also haunted by a figure from his past who reminds him of his greatest failure. Also, there is the activities of Theodore Nott and it looks like something dark is back in Harry’s life. Hermione is Minister for Magic and wants Harry to pay attention to his paperwork instead of running off to take care of problems. Ron is working at Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes so doesn’t factor into the Ministry’s business. Albus distrusts his father and has a plan where he needs Scorpius’ help. They travel to St. Oswald’s Home for Old Witches and Wizards to help out the person from Harry’s past. Delphi, slightly older and out of Hogwarts, helps the old wizard, and joins them. She has a mysterious past. Draco and Harry are back to old form over their sons, but it is really Draco who has insight in what Albus is going through now. So this is a story about children and their parents, a thread that ran in the Harry Potter books, now more dramatic. A wrap up to the Harry Potter story? I think so. It answers many of the things left in the books. Showing Draco now, not as a spoiled, jealous kid, but as a concerned father. The concept of the play reminds me of Back to the Future, paraphrasing Doc, “It’s your kids, Harry. Something gotta be done about your kids!” It would be nice to travel to England and see the play, but I can wait to see if it comes stateside. Five Wands out of Five!