Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is a play written by Jack Thorne, based on an original story written by J. K. Rowling, John Tiffany, and Thorne. The story is set nineteen years after the events of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. It follows Albus Severus Potter (named after the characters Albus Dumbledore and Severus Snape), son of Harry Potter, who is now Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement at the Ministry of Magic. When Albus arrives at Hogwarts, he gets sorted into Slytherin, and fails to live up to his father's legacy, making him resentful of his father. Rowling has referred to the play as "the eighth Harry Potter story".
From its premiere, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child has received near-universal critical acclaim. The original West End production premiered at the Palace Theatre on 7 June 2016. It received a record-breaking eleven nominations and won another record-breaking nine awards, including Best New Play, at the 2017 Laurence Olivier Awards. A Broadway production opened at the Lyric Theatre on 21 April 2018. That production received ten nominations and won six awards, including Best Play at the 2018 Tony Awards. An Australian production opened at the Princess Theatre in Melbourne, on 23 February 2019. A second American production opened in San Francisco at the Curran Theatre on 1 December 2019. The first non-English production opened at the Mehr! Theater in Hamburg, Germany, on 5 December 2021. A Canadian production opened at the Ed Mirvish Theatre in Toronto, on 19 June 2022. A Japanese production opened at the TBS Akasaka ACT Theater on 8 July 2022.
The play was originally produced as a two-part play, that could be viewed on the same day (i.e. in the afternoon and in the evening) or over two evenings. In June 2021, the play was re-staged as a single 3.5 hour show for future performances on Broadway in November 2021. In 2022, the San Francisco, Melbourne, Toronto, and Tokyo productions also adopted the one-part play, with Hamburg following in 2023. The West End production is the only location that continues to stage the original two-part play.
Background
In December 2013, it was revealed that a stage play based on the Harry Potter series had been in development for around a year, with the view to bringing it to the stage sometime in 2016. At the time of the announcement, author J. K. Rowling revealed that the play would "explore the previously untold story of Harry's early years as an orphan and outcast". The following May, Rowling began establishing the creative team for the project.
On 26 June 2015, it was revealed it would receive its world premiere in mid-2016 at London's Palace Theatre. The announcement marked the eighteenth anniversary of the publication of the first Harry Potter novel, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, published on 26 June 1997.
On announcing plans for the project, Rowling stated that the play would not be a prequel. In response to queries regarding the choice of a play rather than a new novel, Rowling stated that she "is confident that when audiences see the play they will agree that it is the only proper medium for the story". Rowling also assured audiences that the play would contain an entirely new story and would not be a rehashing of previously explored content. On 24 September 2015, Rowling announced that the play had been split into two parts. The parts are designed to be viewed on the same day or consecutively over two evenings.
On 23 October 2015, it was confirmed the plays were set nineteen years after the conclusion of the final novel Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and would open at London's Palace Theatre in July 2016. The plays principally follow Harry Potter, now Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and his younger son, Albus Severus Potter.
Plot
The play is divided in two parts, consisting of two acts each.
Act One
In the opening scene, set during the epilogue of Deathly Hallows in the year 2017, Harry and Ginny Potter send their younger son, Albus Severus, on the Hogwarts Express to begin his first year at Hogwarts. Harry works as the Head of Magical Law Enforcement at the Ministry of Magic, while Ginny is the editor of the sports section of The Daily Prophet. Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger also send their daughter Rose on the train. Hermione is now the Minister for Magic, while Ron manages Weasley's Wizard Wheezes in Diagon Alley alongside his brother George. Aboard the Hogwarts Express, Albus befriends Scorpius Malfoy, the son of Harry's former foe Draco, and his wife, Astoria. In a break with the tradition of Potters being sorted into Gryffindor, Albus is sorted into Slytherin alongside Scorpius.