Book Review: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
Evidently Harry Potter doesn’t get to take it easy after the death of Voldemort. That pesky scar is going to start hurting again. And of course, there are the cryptic nightmares …
The play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child picks up at the epilogue to The Deathly Hollows: Harry is sending his son, Albus, off for his first year at Hogwarts. Being the offspring of a famous wizard, Albus suffers the curious stares of his classmates, and as a result keeps to himself. But he’s not alone in this. Scorpius Malfoy has to live down his father’s legacy, too. So, the two boys bond over being outsiders in the wizarding world.
The play, which is divided into two parts, covers five years at Hogwarts. There are the familiar antics of the Sorting Hat, the awkward initial classes in spells, and the early attempts at broom-craft. But nothing every runs smoothly when Harry Potter is around. Soon there is evidence that someone has been manufacturing powerful time-turners. In an effort to fix the heartache of the past, Albus and Scorpius get swept up in changing how history has unfolded.
Harry – along with Ginny, Hermione, Ron, and Draco – goes after them to prevent their undoing their victory over Voldemort. Along the way, we get glimpses into multiple alternate timelines. What if Cedric Diggory hadn’t died at the end of the Triwizard Tournament? What if Hermione and Ron hadn’t gotten together? What if Voldemort had lived? What if Harry had died?
At first, it’s fun to be back in the Harry Potter world. We get to discover what the characters have been up to. There are plenty of cameos along the way: Madame Hooch, the Sorting Hat, and even the portrait of Dumbledore. In a dream sequence, we get to revisit Hagrid’s arrival in Harry’s life. And we get the poignant tension between Harry and Albus where harsh words get said.
"I just dreamt that I was a psychologist in Chicago
who dreams he's an inn-keeper in Vermont.
And you were Suzanne Pleshette,"The script keeps events moving swiftly. Stage directions are evocatively vague, so there’s a bit of a thrill trying to imagine how magic will be portrayed. Apart from wire-work to make wizards fly, there are bookcases that attack, and a time-turner that emits a “giant whoosh of light. A smash of noise. And time stops. And then it turns over, thinks a bit, and begins spooling backwards, slow at first … And then it speeds up.” I definitely want to see how that looks.
And I’d definitely go see the play for the spectacle. But the story? Meh. It reads like fan fiction that wants to speculate on various ideas but doesn’t really advance the overall story at all. On the surface, the story poses potentially intriguing interactions, such as the fact that Harry and Draco are forced to band together to save their respective sons. But in the end, the relationship feels either gimmicky or contrived.
Also, the ubiquitous spectre of Voldemort, in my opinion, is lazy storytelling. Are there no other potential threats in the wizarding world? Do we have to keep covering the same ground? Or are fans supposed to grateful for endless reiterations of ideas already explored in the novels?
In some ways, the play’s greatest appeal may be giving actors the chance to perform their favorite characters, like an elaborate cosplay. It should be noted, however, that the two most intriguing characters of the play are Albus and Scorpius, the ones we haven’t really gotten to know yet. Maybe if the play hadn’t spent so much time trying to reimagine what has already occurred and instead have explored fresh ideas, the story would have been more compelling.
The play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child picks up at the epilogue to The Deathly Hollows: Harry is sending his son, Albus, off for his first year at Hogwarts. Being the offspring of a famous wizard, Albus suffers the curious stares of his classmates, and as a result keeps to himself. But he’s not alone in this. Scorpius Malfoy has to live down his father’s legacy, too. So, the two boys bond over being outsiders in the wizarding world.
The play, which is divided into two parts, covers five years at Hogwarts. There are the familiar antics of the Sorting Hat, the awkward initial classes in spells, and the early attempts at broom-craft. But nothing every runs smoothly when Harry Potter is around. Soon there is evidence that someone has been manufacturing powerful time-turners. In an effort to fix the heartache of the past, Albus and Scorpius get swept up in changing how history has unfolded.
Harry – along with Ginny, Hermione, Ron, and Draco – goes after them to prevent their undoing their victory over Voldemort. Along the way, we get glimpses into multiple alternate timelines. What if Cedric Diggory hadn’t died at the end of the Triwizard Tournament? What if Hermione and Ron hadn’t gotten together? What if Voldemort had lived? What if Harry had died?
At first, it’s fun to be back in the Harry Potter world. We get to discover what the characters have been up to. There are plenty of cameos along the way: Madame Hooch, the Sorting Hat, and even the portrait of Dumbledore. In a dream sequence, we get to revisit Hagrid’s arrival in Harry’s life. And we get the poignant tension between Harry and Albus where harsh words get said.
"I just dreamt that I was a psychologist in Chicagowho dreams he's an inn-keeper in Vermont.
And you were Suzanne Pleshette,"The script keeps events moving swiftly. Stage directions are evocatively vague, so there’s a bit of a thrill trying to imagine how magic will be portrayed. Apart from wire-work to make wizards fly, there are bookcases that attack, and a time-turner that emits a “giant whoosh of light. A smash of noise. And time stops. And then it turns over, thinks a bit, and begins spooling backwards, slow at first … And then it speeds up.” I definitely want to see how that looks.
And I’d definitely go see the play for the spectacle. But the story? Meh. It reads like fan fiction that wants to speculate on various ideas but doesn’t really advance the overall story at all. On the surface, the story poses potentially intriguing interactions, such as the fact that Harry and Draco are forced to band together to save their respective sons. But in the end, the relationship feels either gimmicky or contrived.
Also, the ubiquitous spectre of Voldemort, in my opinion, is lazy storytelling. Are there no other potential threats in the wizarding world? Do we have to keep covering the same ground? Or are fans supposed to grateful for endless reiterations of ideas already explored in the novels?
In some ways, the play’s greatest appeal may be giving actors the chance to perform their favorite characters, like an elaborate cosplay. It should be noted, however, that the two most intriguing characters of the play are Albus and Scorpius, the ones we haven’t really gotten to know yet. Maybe if the play hadn’t spent so much time trying to reimagine what has already occurred and instead have explored fresh ideas, the story would have been more compelling.
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