In Harry Potter and the Cursed Child we meet Harry and his family 19 years after we last left Harry Potter. He now has a family of his own and his youngest song, Albus is at Hogwarts along with the son of Draco Malfoy, Scorpius. The show looks at how Albus struggles with living up to his father’s legacy as he travels through time to try to right some perceived wrongs.

Firstly the story is brilliantly written and whilst you are in the theatre for over 5 hours the time flies by. Admittedly a large chunk of the 1st Act of Part 1 is setting up the characters and the relationships so this part is not as gripping as the rest of the show but you soon find yourself immersed in the wizarding world. Between Part 1 and Part 2 I was desperate to see how the story resolved leaving it at the perfect place for a cliff hanger and it was more than worth the wait. The story revels in suspense but it also has a heart with Albus and Scorpius’ friendship and the navigation of a difficult father and son relationships. This show has the ability to make you laugh, gasp and cry, something that is hard to find on stage.

Director John Tiffany gets the pace and the mood of the show spot on, and isn’t afraid to occasionally linger on moments through movement to really help create the mood of the show. The part of the story that focused on the isolation of Albus and Scorpius using movement of the staircases was a perfect example of this. In addition to this the way that Tiffany along with movement director Steven Hoggett used movement such as cape and wandography (I’m not sure if this is a word but it fits the purpose well) to cover set changes and further immerse the audience into this world.

The technical elements of the show are also immaculate. The set design by Christine Jones is at times jaw dropping, moments when the halls of Hogwarts transformed into the Forbidden Forest were ingenious as was the depiction of time travel and this combined with Jamie Harrison’s illusions and magic and Neil Austin’s lighting design really gives the show a wow factor. Actors seem to disappear in front of your eyes, get sucked into telephone boxes and morph from one actor to another within a blink of an eye leaving the audience to wonder just how all of the illusions are done.

The performances themselves are all brilliantly done. It can be a hard task for those playing the familiar characters from the books or films to live up to the likes of Daniel Radcliff’s interpretation or the version we see in our head when imagining them but David Ricardo-Pearce, Thomas Aldridge and Jade Ogugua as Harry, Ron and Hermione succeed in making them relatable to the characters we know and love yet all put their own stamp on them. Ellis Rae took on the role of Albus Potter and cut an incredibly sympathetic figure quickly getting the audience to understand his perspective on things. Playing Scorpius Malfoy was Harry Acklowe and he was the highlight of the show for me, whilst he was able to play on the introverted side of Scorpius he also captured the humour perfectly and really delivered a well rounded character.

With a story that captures the imagination supported by illusions and technical theatre at the top of the game along with an engaging cast, Harry Potter and The Cursed Child whisks the audience away from London for an utterly magical and enthralling time at the theatre.

Harry Potter and The Cursed Child is currently running at the Palace Theatre. You can book tickets through London Box Office.

If you like this review you might also like my review of Back to The Future, Hadestown and MJ The Musical.

A donation has been made to Mermaids, a charity who provide support to trans, non-binary and gender-diverse children, young people and their families. You can find out more about Mermaids here.