Thursday, 17 October 2019

Imogen's A Theatre Nerd: Harry Potter & The Cursed Child


I have been immensely fortunate when it comes to exposure to musical theatre and live-stage performances. When I was younger, my aunt used to purchase tickets for myself, my younger sister and my mother to see shows on the West End, some of which, I still have the programs for now. I remember the first West End show I went to was Hairspray when I was around eleven or twelve years old. We got to stage door after the performance and the programs we bought were covered with signatures from cast members that were delighted that we had enjoyed the show. The last time I went on one of those trips was when I was sixteen. I had seen Wicked with my family and not everyone had enjoyed the performance as much as I had. But I was still much too young to go to the theatre alone. However, my love for musical theatre in particular didn’t cease.

It was only recently, in October of 2018, that I went to another West End performance, where I saw Heather’s on tour with two of my friends, just weeks after I’d managed to purchase Hamilton tickets for myself and my mother in the new year. It was then that I realised I had happened across an expensive habit. Since then, I have made four more trips to see shows in London; Hamilton (twice), Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, Harry Potter and The Cursed Child and The Great Gatsby at Gatsby’s Drugstore.

I figured that, I would share some anecdotes about my experiences, because, honestly, I just love to share and remember the fun I had!


SO, Harry Potter & The Cursed Child


On 16th January 2019, I went to London to meet with one of my best friends, Emma, and one of her friends to see Harry Potter & The Cursed Child. I can’t deny that I was apprehensive to meet Emma’s friend Charlie, but I had heard that she was lovely. Having heeded my warning from having seen Heather’s with my friends just a few months prior, we met with two hours before Part One would begin. That gave us enough time to get acquainted, explore the local area, locate the theatre and get something to eat. We did, however, lose track of time and ended up having to eat our McDonalds outside of the theatre but in doing so, we managed to sneak some really pretty photos of the theatre!

One suggestion I would give to people going to see this show would be to do your best to stay hydrated before the show as this theatre does not allow outside food or drinks in. We were lucky enough to smuggle a half-eaten packet of Maoam Pinballs into the theatre before Part Two, as they were in my pocket and the person doing bag searches didn’t seem to mind too much. Probably as a handful of sweets are less likely to be of issue when compared to sandwiches, crisps or loud food that would distract the other members of the audience form the dialogue and staging of the show.

As we had decided to purchase the slightly cheaper tickets, which were £15 per part, it meant that we did have a restricted view of the show, which wasn’t too much of an issue until the second part, where in one instance, everyone in our area had to stand to watch what had taken place. This wasn’t too much of an issue for us as we were at the edge and didn’t restrict the view of anyone behind us by standing. If money isn’t an issue, when purchasing a ticket, I would recommend being closer to the stage than we were. But, the show was amazing, despite being so high up.

I intend to purchase tickets to Harry Potter & The Cursed Child again, to take a friend after Christmas. It was fantastically staged and I would definitely recommend seeing it, as the script translates so well to the stage. Seeing it on paper doesn’t do the story justice, in my opinion, at least.




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