Something that we wanted to do but didn't get the chance while living in Europe was to see the play, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, in London. We had planned on going but the trip ended up being cancelled due to covid, like so many things at that time. Lucky for us the play has come to Toronto.
I purchased tickets for my wife's birthday and we headed to the big city to check it out.
Here we are on Yonge St. in the T-Dot just outside the Eaton Center and in front of the Ed Mirvish Theater.
We are both pretty big Harry Potter fans, if you didn't already know, and this play has been on our bucket list for quite some time.
We had actually both read the screenplay a few years ago and we weren't big fans of it.
The format was very different from the book series and we didn't get the same magical feeling that we had from the original works.
We also thought that there were a bit too many issues and deviations from canon that we were more than a little skeptical about.
Nonetheless, that didn’t stop us from wanting to see the play and in the end we just told ourselves that the play wasn't cannon, it was all just for fun.
So we arrived a little early at the theater to admire the Harry Potter ornamentation as well as the Ed Mirvish building.
The lobby was an especially nice spot for photos.
Here's one of my wife from the opposite end of the balcony.
Actually, I took a couple there.
They served drinks and snacks and Butterbeer in a bottle. We only ended up buying an over priced water though and some Harry Potter themed gummies.
I couldn't take any photos of the show, obviously, but I tried to take a quick shot of the set and a few of the theater itself.
We had really great seats in the first row of the 2nd section, so we had an isle between us and the next group of people with nobody directly in front of us. That was a major plus I think. The photo was taken with my wide angle lens so it looks much further back than it actually was.
The Verdict
In the end we thoroughly enjoyed the show and were pretty impressed by the production and special effects. It had pyrotechnics throughout and they did a really good job portraying the magic on stage. It was a lot like a magic show and at times I was a little stumped at how they pulled a few things off. I really had to ponder it for a while.
It was very different from the book series and the movies of course, with the original characters all grown up and a new group of main characters to take their place. That is something you have to keep in mind. It's not the same as what you're used to and what you might have grown up with. Nonetheless, if you're open to that sort of thing then it's really quite enjoyable.
One other thing that I really liked as well is that they have edited the show in Canada and reduced the overall length of the play by roughly a third. In the UK the show is two 2.5 hour sittings, which means that it's two expensive tickets and two days cut into your travel schedule if you are there in vacation. I was pretty annoyed by that when I had tried to book it originally.
Like I said, my wife and I had both read the screenplay and after seeing the show we were struggling to remember what they had cut out. Online it said that a dream had been removed and some scenes with Harry Potters mother and father. Neither of those sounded all that interesting to me, so I was glad for the removal and the reduced cost and hassle of watching two shows. I'm a big proponent of good editing... just not of my own blog though... Another plus to the edited version is that it gives you the opportunity to see a slightly different show if you want to see both versions and have time to do so on vacation in London. But anyway...
Overall we really liked the play and I'd definitely give it my recommendation for any Harry Potter fan out there.