Halima

Sensational, magic, love! Just a few points to note which seem necessary having read other reviews: I think when you go to see this, if you are a big Harry Potter fan, you need to watch it as a completely different story with different characters to the original books, though they share the names and histories of the golden trio and their friends, family and all those who make up the world of Harry Potter. This is all the continuation is. If you measure the stories and older characters up to their book counterparts you won’t like a lot of it and you may feel let down. As a show it was spectacular. Take it for what it is, an incredible stage production that (if you watch through parts one and two) is unlike anything else you are likely to see in theatre. It is not a continuation of the stories and books or films for me, in my head these are different characters and this is a story that is not the continuation of Harry and the gang in their real lives. I won’t be reading the books and thinking oh yes! They will end up doing x y or z in 20 years because of the cursed child production. I will think if it comes to mind for me it will be that it is a separate story, this is not how these characters end up as adults for me, and I don’t think it’s how they end up as adults for JK Rowling either. The actors playing Scorpius and Albus amongst others were superb, and I loved these two characters and their story together - oh and Moaning Myrtle stole the show. She was sublime. I loved her. Just don’t get caught up in how Harry Ron and Hermione turn out, it’s not nice to watch or realistic and it doesn’t make sense. It just didn’t work for me and I think it’s upsetting for a lot of fans for that exact reason. I feel that because I have since watching the show read other reviews and seen peoples responses. These are not the characters we know and love and are not even a realistic continuation and development of who they are at their core in the original stories or how they project themselves to the world. They share their names and only their names. Lastly the extra marital dalliance in the alternate reality? Not necessary and frankly unpleasant to watch. I also took note that it was only men’s voices you could hear laughing in the audience at this point which was just upsetting and an unpleasant portrayal of truths at the heart of our society. Quite fowl actually. At this point (mentioned at the start of this paragraph) it felt as though they were destroying loved characters in front of our eyes, that these were not the characters we knew and this behaviour just wasn’t realistic, which is why you must view this as an entirely different story, with only the same names - that is loosely based upon the original books. The characters we know would never do the things they do in this play. Even in an alternate reality scene! Except for Draco’s character development through the years which I appreciated. Go with an open mind and appreciate it for what it is, an incredible stage production and a lovely afternoon and evening. If you watch it as this it is sensational. Is it not however the continuation to the Harry Potter series. ❤️