Fanatic Potterheads joined together all over the Internet last summer to rekindle the Harry Potter fandom as news of a potential “eighth Harry Potter book” traveled through forums and blogs. Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling confirmed the rumors on Twitter in June of last year, tweeting, “I'm also very excited to confirm today that a new play called Harry Potter and the #CursedChild will be opening in London next year.”
“Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” the highly anticipated play-sequel to the original Harry Potter series, premiered during the summer of 2016. Written by Jack Thorne, the play showcases some rising stars in its cast, most notably Noma Dumezweni, a South African and English actress who plays Hermione, and Sam Clemmett, who plays Albus.
Fans raced to buy the play tickets online to see the performance at the Palace Theatre in London. Sales almost reached the heights of “Hamilton,” and showtimes often sold out in a single day. Those who couldn’t watch the play flocked to libraries and bookstores, eager to get their hands on the novel.
The script begins with the epilogue at the end of the seventh Harry Potter book, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.” The plot centers around the adventures of Harry’s son Albus Severus Potter and Albus’s best friend Scorpius Malfoy.
The Potters’ troubles start when Albus is sorted into Slytherin. He fears that he has let his family down, especially as a son of the revered Harry Potter, and consequently family relationships grow ever more strained. All throughout this unfolding drama, Harry’s scar starts to pain him again, a possible sign of Lord Voldemort’s return. As the tension builds in Part One of the play, readers also learn of a rumor that Scorpius’s real father is somehow actually Lord Voldemort.
Sophomore Meera Ravichandran dislikes this last plot point and thinks the play was lackluster in elaborating details of the storyline.
“The plot wasn’t very developed and not descriptive at times,” she said. “I especially think the rumor that Voldemort could have possibly fathered a child was gross, disgusting and hard to imagine.”
Sophomore Deyshna Pai was similarly disappointed by the mediocre plot and storytelling the script demonstrated.
“I don't feel like the book stirred any great emotion from me like the original series did, which is a bit of a let down,” Pai said. “I was excited when I heard about the book but skeptical when I found out it was to be a play.”
Many other readers warn fans from having high expectations of the play. Junior Colina Guan disliked how much the characters differed from expectations and agrees with critics who say the book is like a “bad fanfiction.”
Most fans seem to agree that “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” has failed to live up to the expectations Rowling set with her original series. Despite Rowling’s approval of the play, Potterheads deny its legitimacy as an eighth Harry Potter book and instead deem it a mere work of fanfiction.