Review: ‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child:’ The Boy-Who-Lived’s Epic Return To The Shelves
Photo by Lhea Owens.

Review: ‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child:’ The Boy-Who-Lived’s Epic Return To The Shelves

Author J.K. Rowling, of the seven-part book series Harry Potter, has caused a magical stir of emotions within her fan base with her recent release of “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.”

The original arc of the novels followed the wizarding teenage boy and his best friends through a coming of age story based around themes of defeating dark forces, the importance of love, family and friendship, as well as coping with the burdens of loss and death. By the end of the series, we encounter a once gangly, unpopular teen turned ultimate hero of the wizarding world.

In the play based exactly 19-years after the defeat of the Dark Lord Voldemort, we follow a middle-aged Harry who is now working for the Ministry of Magic and exploring his roles as a father.

“Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” not only continues to follow Harry’s story but also focuses on the beginning of his teenage son Albus’ start at Hogwarts.

Albus struggles with the shadow his father’s fame has left looming over him, and the journey he and his best friend Scorpius, Draco Malfoy’s son, take to stop dark entities from rising again.

Though the story is based on Ms. Rowling’s original story, the play was written by playwright Jack Thorne and directed by John Tiffany. Due to the play’s special rehearsal edition book being written in script form, it’s missing Ms. Rowling’s impressive craft in creating the major visuals and descriptive language to explain her magical world.

What makes this script so unique is while her immense descriptions are missing, and for those of us not lucky enough to get to see the highly raved about special effects in person, no in-depth explanation of Ms. Rowling’s world is actually needed to be able to visualize the scenes.

Due to Ms. Rowling’s already established world that she crafted so perfectly in her fan’s minds, even with the introduction of new characters like Albus or Scorpius, it is still easy for readers to imagine the characters they have grown to love and their protégées so clearly.  This is thanks to Ms. Rowling staying so true to her characters, her world, and the rules that apply to it. This book is filled not only with great characters, but an exciting plot, high-stakes action, and soul-crushing anguish that it will be impossible for readers to put down.

What makes Ms. Rowling’s plot so exciting is her clever use of recalling and revisiting past events and items that her fans are already comfortable with. Scenes from the original saga featuring the horrors caused by the Dursley family in Harry’s past, events from the Tri-Wizard Tournament from “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,” as well as the use of Polyjuice Potion and Time-Turners are all present in “Cursed Child.” Giving her fans something they are already all-knowing about allows for an easier experience while reading the text.

Photo by Lhea Owens.

Photo by Lhea Owens.

The plot point that might shock fans the most while reading the eighth installment of the Potter saga is the strained relationship between Harry and his son Albus.

Albus has a deep resentment for his father due to him being “The Chosen One” and saving the wizarding world. Thanks to his father’s shadow, Albus feels the need to always prove himself not only to his father but the wizarding world itself.

But, upon arriving at Hogwarts for the first time and being sorted into the Slytherin house, Albus already feels like a failure in his father’s eyes. This is the start of the dark spiral of their strained relationship and what they must do to regain an equal understanding of one another.

Without giving away too many spoilers, not only the Potters, but several other familiar and not so familiar characters must find the courage to fight old and new demons lurking in the darkness, within themselves and within the wizarding world. Throughout these character’s journeys, the themes of love, death, friendship, family, heroism and concurring over evil are all still present in Ms. Rowling’s delightful new script just as they were in the first seven books.

Fans can be put at ease that “Cursed Child” is worth the read and will live up to the standards of the original saga.

Lhea Owens

Arts and Entertainment Editor

Lhea.J. Owens@uwsp.edu

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