Reviews are out for “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.”
“Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” is a two-part West End stage play written by Jack Thorne, J.K. Rowling and John Tiffany.
The story is set nineteen years after the events of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” and follows Harry Potter, now a Ministry of Magic employee, and his younger son Albus Severus Potter.
That’s all I’m going to tell you because after each performance ushers pass out buttons urging the audience to #KeepTheSecrets

“Keep the Secrets” badge
Here are the reviews, scroll down for official “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” photos and more.
The Guardian’s Michael Billington writes: “John Tiffany, as director of this pair of two-and-a-half-hour plays, has masterminded a thrilling theatrical spectacle.”
Follow Billington on Twitter
The Telegraph’s Dominic Cavendish: “Much of the first half is taken up with their developing bromance, and Albus’s determination to try to prove himself by using an illegal “time-turner” to change the outcome of the fateful Triwizard Tournament (as recounted in The Goblet of Fire) that resulted in the death of dishy Cedric Diggory.
The second half deals with the knotty ramifications of the pair’s meddling.
Follow Cavendish on Twitter
The Independent’s Jack Shepherd:”For many, this version of Harry – whose fathering skills are rather awful and whose arrogance is at times unflattering – will be jarring to fans at first. He’s not perfect, and that’s what makes him so great; this turbulent father/son relationship is entirely captivating and particularly emotional towards the end.”
Follow Shepherd on Twitter
The Chicago Tribune’s Chris Jones: “Heretical as this may sound, I walked out of the theater quietly lamenting that the movies ever were made.
Tiffany, Hoggett, and, not least, the set designer Christine Jones and magic persons Jeremy Chernick and Jamie Harrison collectively make the case that it is the theater that more naturally expresses the Rowling gestalt beyond the page.”
Follow Jones on Twitter
Entertainment Weekly’ James Hibberd : “Author J.K. Rowling, working with London theatre veterans Jack Thorne and John Tiffany, have delivered a production that’s as spectacular as it is ambitious, stuffed with special effects and twists that had a preview audience gasping, Cursed Child is a story that doesn’t play it safe with the Potter canon and will change how fans see certain favorite characters forever.”
Follow Hibberd on Twitter:
Wall Street Journal’s Kate Maltby: “Mr. Tiffany’s production rises above this morass of complexity, thanks not just to Mr. Clemmett’s and Mr. Boyle’s performances, but to the emotional depth Mr. Tiffany draws out of Ms. Rowling’s first-generation characters.
As Harry, Mr. Parker fleshes out every inch of our old hero: Harry’s short fuse is back—worse now that he’s parenting a teenager”
Follow Maltby on Twitter
Variety’s Matt Trueman: “It’s Boyle, though, who really stands out, and his Scorpius is bound to be a new fan favorite, a lovable geek with wits as quick as his voice is screechy.”
Follow Trueman on Twitter
The New York Times’ Ben Brantley: “Its plot is built on a fantasy that most of us indulge from early childhood: What if we could rewrite our own histories?…This production captures Ms. Rowling’s sensibility even more persuasively than did the special-effects-driven films.”
Brantley creeps on Twitter.

The cast of “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child”

The cast of “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child”

Alex Price (Draco Malfoy), Paul Thornley (Ron Weasley), Noma Dumezweni (Hermione Granger), Jamie Parker (Harry Potter) and Poppy Miller (Ginny Potter)

Alex Price as Draco Malfoy

Anthony Boyle as Scorpius Malfoy and Alex Price as Draco Malfoy Foggy

Anthony Boyle as Scorpius Malfoy and Sam Clemmett as Albus Potter Suitcases

Anthony Boyle as Scorpius Malfoy

Jamie Parker as Harry Potter and Sam Clemmett as Albus Potter

Jamie Parker as Harry Potter

Jamie Parker as Harry Potter

Jamie Parker as Harry Potter

Jamie Parker as Harry Potter

Noma Dumezweni as Hermione Granger, Paul Thornley as Ron Weasley and Jamie Parker as Harry Potter

Noma Dumezweni as Hermione Granger, Jamie Parker as Harry Potter and Paul Thornley as Ron Weasley

Paul Thornley as Ron Weasley and Noma Dumezweni as Hermione Granger

Poppy Miller as Ginny Potter and Jamie Parker as Harry Potter

Sam Clemmett as Albus Potter and Jamie Parker as Harry Potter

Sam Clemmett as Albus Potter

Sandy McDade (Trolley Witch), Anthony Boyle (Scorpius Malfoy), Sam Clemmett (Albus Potter) and the cast of “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child”

The cast of “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child”

The cast of “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child”

The cast of “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.”
Of course there are lots of cool souvenirs.
My favourites are the patches, one from each of the four houses.
Visit the official website HarryPotterthePlay.com
Photos by Manuel Harlan
What did you think?
You May Also Like
Potter test
Meet Stephen Mulligan, Conductor Harry Potter Live
Harry Potter & orchestra at Budweiser Gardens
Video + Twitter reviews: The Matchmaker