Remember how emphatically creator JK Rowling denied that Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, the mysterious upcoming London stage play, is not a prequel? As it turns out, she was right (who woulda thunk it?). Just hours after the first bit of official artwork for the play was revealed on Friday, a whole lot of details were released including the play’s synopsis which reveals (via Mashable) that the play is actually a sequel set 19 years after the events of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and follows both a middle-aged Harry and his and Ginny’s second son, Albus Severus Potter.
Rowling, who confirmed that Cursed Child is the official 8th story in the franchise, tweeted out the synopsis, which was revealed on Pottermore:
“It was always difficult being Harry Potter and it isn’t much easier now that he is an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband and father of three school-age children.
While Harry grapples with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs, his youngest son Albus must struggle with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted. As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn the uncomfortable truth: sometimes, darkness comes from unexpected places.”
We’ve of course already seen young Albus in the movies as well, as the epilogue to Deathly Hallows – Part II showed a grown up Harry and Ginny Weasley seeing off their son Albus Severus – and his older brother James Sirius – at Platform 9 and 3/4, on Albus’ first day at Hogwarts.
As to why this 8th Harry Potter story is being told as a play and not in a book (or maybe even one day in a movie adaptation) is still a bit of a mystery at the moment, but Rowling assures that there’s a very good reason for the format.
“The story only exists because the right group of people came together with a brilliant idea about how to present Harry Potter on stage. I’m confident that when audiences see Harry Potter and the Cursed Child they will understand why we chose to tell this story in this way.”
Much like the movie adaptations of the later books, the play will be presented in two parts due to the “epic nature of the story”, and features a still-unannounced cast of over 30 actors. It will debut on London’s West End mid-2016, and for those of you lucky enough to be in London at that time, I would suggest you head over to HarryPotterthePlay.com as soon as possible and pre-register for tickets. They go on sale on Wednesday, 28 October at 11am GMT on a first come first served basis to all those who pre-registered, before opening up to the general public on Friday, 30 October at 11am GMT.
The play is directed by Olivier and Tony award-winning theatre director John Tiffany, and was co-written by Rowling and screenwriter/playwright Jack Thorne (A Long Way Down, How I Live Now).
Last Updated: October 26, 2015
Lardus-For the Emperor!
October 26, 2015 at 17:16
Now plays are coming in 2 parts?