You might not have guessed but I am a quite Harry Potter fan. I have to admit that I am not the young generation who grew up with the characters whilst the books were published but I have read all the stories and saw all the films. I even read the sequel story “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” which was written in the theatre script format. I generally like going to theatres and am also accustomed to reading scripts, however, in this book I occasionally had problems visualising the scenes described how it would be created on the live stage. As you can image the story was about the wizardry world so there are several scenes the characters are using magic or some un-natural event occurs. That is why I wanted to go and see it for real. For the people who would like to see the play, don’t worry I am not going to give away any spoilers here.

The play was composed from two parts. I chose to see Part I and Part II on the same day so it was almost the long whole day commitment. Although it was a day time on a weekday, the Palace Theatre was packed with people. The audience was mostly adult, mainly young-ish people and some older generation too, and some children. My seat was right next to the central aisle on the stall so it was located in the middle of the theatre. During the play there were several visual tricks but I did not see any hidden strings from the ceiling or any hole thigs disappear from my seating position.

The Opening set in the Theatre

So, what is my verdict? Yes, it was a very enjoyable theatre experience. The opening dance sequence and acting were good. The magical tricks were well done and a lot of visual effects were impressive. Some scenes could be quite frightening to children but I did not hear any screams or crying from the younger audience. People seemed engaged with the characters and story. Before going to the theatre I was a little worried that it could be difficult to understand for the people who don’t know much about the previous Harry Potter story but my concern was unjustified. Although some stories and characters’ names come back from the old story, it was clear enough for everybody could understand. So, I have to say ‘Well done!’ to the production team.