Harry Potter and the Cursed Child made its London debut for the critics, receiving rave reviews. The show is already sold out until next May so its welcome by critics seems a little obvious to fans, but good to know. The show officially opens to the public on Saturday.
Ben Brantley of the New York Times sounded prepared to hate the show, but he didn’t.
“Like the novels that preceded it, The Cursed Child is stuffed with arcana-filled plots that defy diagrams and baldly wrought sentimental life lessons, along with anguished dives into the earnest, tortured solipsism of adolescence. By rights, such a combination should try the patience of any grown-up. But like Ms. Rowling’s books, the play vanquishes resistance… This production captures Ms. Rowling’s sensibility even more persuasively than did the special-effects-driven films.”
Dominic Cavendish of The Telegraph called it a “triumph.”
“British theatre hasn’t known anything like it for decades and I haven’t seen anything directly comparable in all my reviewing days… It’s a triumph.”
Jack Shepherd of The Independent felt confident that fans would be pleased.
“Well, Harry Potter fans, you will be glad to know that J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne, and John Tiffany have created a theatre production of immense wonder, one that is highly referential to Harry Potter stories past and is, above all, truly magical…”
Sounds great…and totally sold out.