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"Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" brings back to life
author J.K. Rowling's magical world of wizards and witches, set
19 years after her last book about the much-loved character and
his friends Ron and Hermione.
The play, the eighth story in the series, opened for previews on
Tuesday night at London's Palace Theater, outside which queues
snaked for meters as those who secured the first tickets waited
anxiously to get in.
The play, split into two parts, follows the three friends into
adulthood, with Potter now described as an overworked Ministry
of Magic employee, coping with his youngest son Albus' struggles
with his famous family's legacy.
Little else has been revealed and Rowling, whose books were
turned into box office hit movies, has asked that audiences do
not spoil the story for others.
"I really liked the films but after seeing this, I would say,
forget the films," fan Callum Fawcett said. "This is fantastic
... It's got everything."
"It was utterly remarkable, just incredible," fellow fan Ollie
Southgate added. "It's a whole different version of everything
that everyone loves about the books ... The visual effects
they've got is like nothing I've ever seen."
The play is based on a story written by Rowling, screenwriter
and playwright Jack Thorne and director John Tiffany.
Journalists said audiences were enchanted.
"The audience ... cannot be more thrilled or more appreciative
or more ready to be caught up in the spirit of the undertaking,"
wrote the New York Times adding: "The three main characters
remained true to their younger selves".
Britain's Daily Telegraph wrote: "The audience came wanting
magic and they got it in spades ... Has Rowling done it again?
The audience was in no doubt."
On Twitter, Rowling said the reaction to the first preview was
"wonderful".
"Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" opens on July 30.
(Reporting By Saskia O'Donoghue; Additional reporting by
Marie-Louise Gumuchian; Editing by Janet Lawrence)
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