Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

At the weekend  Ram and I took Harry up to London for the day, and we took him to see Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. It was a bit of a mission to get the tickets, so we were very lucky that my brother-in-law was able to buy some extra tickets quite a while ago, and we could tag along!

This post doesn't really contain any spoilers, but please don't keep reading if you don't want to know anything about the show!

We didn't realise when we booked the tickets that the performance we saw was the last one by the original cast. I don't know if the audience is normally so enthusiastic, but there was a brilliant atmosphere in the building! The play is performed in two parts so it's a long show, although we had a break between the two with enough time to grab some dinner.

As you leave the theatre after the first part you are encouraged to take a badge with the hashtag #keepthesecrets, and promise not to spoil the show for other people. Although I had read the script, back when I didn't know that I'd be able to get tickets, there were still plenty of surprises, and I think that people really have made an effort not to give away too many details.

So I don't want to say anything about the play that might be a spoiler, but I can say that it was amazing and we absolutely loved it!  It's a very intense show, loud and fast paced, and as you'd expect from a Harry Potter story it deals with some dark themes. There are some fantastic magical effects and I'm sure that it would benefit from another watch - I'm sure that I missed things!

The play is billed as suitable for children aged 10 and up, so I was a bit unsure as to what Harry would make of it. Originally just Ram and I were going to go, but since booking the tickets Harry had seen all the films and read all the books, including the script for the play, and he really wanted to come along. When another ticket in our group became available we decided that all three of us would go, and Harry's cousin, who is also 8, was watching too. I was surprised however not to see any other children in the audience, perhaps because it was quite a late finish for a school night.

Fortunately Harry really enjoyed it, and although he did find some parts of the show a little bit scary (it's a bit different to reading about something sinister happening and then it actually taking place in front of you!) he was really glad that he had come along.

Now I'm just desperate to watch it again!