Attention, all Harry Potter fans, here’s some news that will make you feel as though you have won the House Cup: Harry Potter is returning -- in play form! J.K. Rowling recently caused an uproar on Twitter when she announced that she is collaboarting with writer Jack Thorne and director John Tiffany on Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, a brand-new story that will be produced for the stage. The news has caused many Potterheads (and publications) to speculate on what this new adventure will entail, and while Rowling hasn’t released much information on it just yet, she has made a few things clear:
1. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child will not be a prequel: Contrary to specuation, the new play will not be about Harry’s life with his horrid relatives the Dursleys, nor will it focus on Harry’s parents. Rowling went as far as to call it an “anti-prequel". So, this is not Harry Potter: Episode I.
2. The script will not be written by Rowling but by Jack Thorne: Fans have been hounding Rowling with questions on what the plot will include, which, unfortunately for them, is a useless feat, as she is not writing the script -- Thorne is. However, despite the fact that Rowling isn’t the official writer, she has insisted that the play is still canon, since she is part of the development team.
3. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child will tell a brand new story: Ah, this makes me so excited! What adventures will Harry get into? Are one of his children cursed? Does he encounter the Children of the Corn? No one knows for sure yet, but we do know that it is bound to be good!
4. The play is not a musical: Sadly for the musical theater geeks out there, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child will have no spectacular musical numbers. This means that we won’t get a song in which Ron belts out a number about his love for the word “blimey”, Hagrid will not reveal a secret tap-dancing talent, nor will Harry and Ginny get to sing a tearjerking love ballad.
5. If you want to see the play, you are going to have to go to London: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child will open in London next summer, and there are currently no plans for the play to travel or appear anywhere else. So, if you want to see the play, you best book your tickets for London (as I am planning to do!).
Are you excited for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child?
(Photo via PNP/WENN)
- Sarah Osman, YH Staff