The play ‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child’ will be staged in two parts, J. K. Rowling has revealed.
The new stage play by Jack Thorne is based on a new and original story by Rowling, Thorne and John Tiffany, and will premiere in London’s West End in summer 2016 at the Palace Theatre, fansite Pottermore.com reported.
“Due to the epic nature of the story we’ve been working on, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child will be in two parts,” Rowling said.
Bafta-winning writer Thorne, elated by the chance to delve deeper into the wizarding world, said “obviously I loved it when we decided to tell this story in two parts, because I got to spend more time with the characters and what an honor that has been”.
“It continues to be unbelievable and amazing that I’ve been given this extraordinary chance to bring Harry Potter to the stage. As a fan, who just devoured the books and the films, this couldn’t be more exciting for me,” he added.
Co-writer Tiffany believes the play would be a unique production, “I have never worked on anything quite like this before. Usually in theatre you are adapting existing material or creating an entirely new play. With the ‘Cursed Child’ we have been given the unique opportunity to explore some of the most cherished books and beloved characters ever written, yet work with Rowling to tell a story that no one yet knows – it is exhilarating”.
John and Jack are two of the most successful and respected people working in theatre today. Their utterly charming nervousness about bringing Rowling’s characters to the stage only highlights what this extraordinary new story means to them.
Growing Up With Books
“I just hope we do it justice,” says Jack. “I am so constantly aware of respecting the previous seven stories. I hope people love this play like they loved the books. Everything we do is with that in mind”.
The production does not just mean the world to its director and writer, but also to the entire team working tirelessly to bring the play to London’s West End next summer.
“There are many people working on this production who grew up with the books, or discovered them with their kids,” John said, “and it has been thrilling and humbling to hear them say ‘We never thought we would get Harry back. But he is here”.
Harry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by British Rowling. The series chronicles the adventures of a young wizard Harry Potter and his friends at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Since the release of the first novel on June 30, 1997, the books have gained immense popularity, critical acclaim and commercial success worldwide. As of May 2015, the books have sold more than 450 million copies worldwide, making the series the best-selling book series in history, and have been translated into 73 languages.
