Cursed child year 3 review
I donāt know if anyone cares or even reads these anymore, but I thought why not.
On Saturday the 4th May I saw Harry Potter and the cursed child in London for the second time ever (yeah I know Iām late posting this š) I missed this play so much since I last saw it in 2017 and it was 100% worth the trip. This play is just so amazing and never fails to amaze me.
The first time I saw the play the original London cast still played and it was really something special to watch them. So I was excited to see a different cast for the first time as Iām just very used to the original one.
This time I saw the 3rd year cast and thought I give a little review about this cast too and compare their interpretations with the ones of the original cast I saw the first time.
This time I knew what to expect, but the stage affects still managed to totally blow me away (AGAIN). I donāt know how they do it, the whole play is so beautifully choreographed and designed. Itās just magical. No wonder they won so many Olivier and Tony Awards. The production value of this play is simply superb. I know I should be over this, but as itās my second time seeing the show after a long time in person, it still got me again.
I still love this story so much and itās just so beautifully written. The script really shines when itās performed on stage and gives the script a whole other dimension. Although the entire play is over 5 hours long (which is quite some time sitting in a theatre), I was hooked the entire time and there wasnāt even one minute I was bored (I know, no surprise considering how much I love it).
As good as the play may be the experience is still very dependent on the cast. Without a good cast not even a good script and good special effects can save the story. So I will move on to one of the most important parts of cursed child: the actors.
Overall the year 3 cast is really great. As a whole I wasnāt into this cast as much as I was into the original one due to some things I will explain below, but I think they did an amazing job and told the story very well. All of them are great actors and totally deserve to be in this play. Individually a lot were really extraordinary and as good or even better than the first cast I saw, but in comparison to the original cast their interpretations didnāt perfectly blend together as well, which isnāt any of their faults. I hope in year 4 cast this gets better as the actors I thought fitted together very well will stay and some of the other actors will go.
Harry Potter - Jamie Ballard
I really loved Jamie Ballard as Harry. He had one of the hardest jobs as Jamie Parker is one of my favorite original cast members, but he did really great. At fists in act one I needed some time to get used to him (as he looks and talks very differently from Parker) and he was a bit stiff at the start (and the pacing was a little bit off). In the blanket scene I felt he could do more (as itās my favorite scene from Jamie Parker) and I wasnāt really sure what to think of him after act one (although his Scorpius was amazing, he nailed imitating Jonathan).
But then act 2 happened and he really stepped up his game. In the last three Acts he was simply amazing and I got more used to his Harry and how different he is from Jamie Parker. Ballard isnāt as emotional/loud and as hot headed, but I really enjoyed his more softer but still emotional take on the role. As much as I love Parker he tended to be very rough at times and Ballardās softer approach worked really great and was a new breath of air. He made Harry his own and didnāt just copy the actors before him. After act 2 I was 100% sold and in love with his Harry. He isnāt as much book Harry as Jamie Parker is (he is just the most perfect book Harry adaptation ever), but his own version of Harry worked really great in the play and made Harry very sympathetic and lovable. Thatās why theatre is so great, it gives us many different interpretations of one character and let us see the same character in a different light.
Albus Potter - Joe Idris-Roberts
I really liked Joe as Albus. He wasnāt one of my favorites from this cast, but he was good. Some parts worked really well with him especially Albusā more calm and dry moments (he gets Albusā dry humor spot on). His Albus is more collected and logical than Sam Clemmettās and his leader qualities really shine through.
Sadly the more emotional scenes didnāt work as well for him. The blanket scene could have been more emotional from him and especially the library scene lacked something. In this scene Albus really has to be sorry and understand Scorpius better. Itās a very emotional scene and Jonathan really gave it his all. Joeās restrained reaction did fit to his interpretation of Albus but not really to Jonathanās Scorpius or the atmosphere of the scene.
His chemistry with Jamie Ballard was fine and you could feel that they mean a lot to each other although there could have been a little bit more from Joeās side too.
Sam didnāt show Albus as much as a leader, but his emotional scenes were always spot on. Personally I see Albus more as a hot headed emotional character that makes decisions without thinking about it properly. He is much like Harry in this regard and I missed that from Joeās Albus. His more calm version of Albus is totally legit and he is a great actor (and I know many people love his Albus ā¤ļø, which is great and what is the reason why so many different versions should exist),but personally as a fan of emotional (and super angsty) Albus I wasnāt 100% sold with his interpretation. Iām happy to have seen his Albus, but it doesnāt perfectly match with the Albus I imagined while reading the script.
Scorpius Malfoy - Jonathan Case
Oh boy...where do I start with Jonathan. His Scorpius is absolute perfection. He is such an amazing actor and this is exactly how I imagined Scorpius to be like. As much as I love Anthonyās Scorpius he was never 100% how I imagined him while reading the script (which is not a bad thing!), but Jonathan is just perfect. He was the most adorable thing I have ever seen on a stage. Where can I sign up to adopt his Scorpius??? (Sorry Draco š).
Jonathan played Scorpius a lot more shy and unsure with a lot of anxiety. Anthony was louder and more sure of himself. Jonathan on the other hand is a complete mess and as socially awkward as I am (he is very relatable). He wasnāt as funny as Anthony, but still hilarious. His Scorpius is just so adorable and lovable and I really canāt understand how anyone in Hogwarts can bully him.
His emotional scenes were spot on. The library scene was amazing as was the office scene with Draco in the dark AU. He was one of the strongest actors in the play and he made every scene he was in was in 100% better.
His chemistry with Joe was good although as I said above I missed a little bit from Joeās side. The Scorbus hug at the end was everything though. My Scorbus heart was more than delighted š.
With him and Anthony they casted two extremely talented actors and there is a reason Scorpius was the audience favourite in both shows I saw. As actors they are both equally talented, but I think Jonathan was more my personal Scorpius, which is absolutely subjective. I love both of them so much, please donāt make me choose. So happy Jonathan will also be in the year 4 cast.
Hermione Granger - Franc Ashman
I have no doubt Franc is a great actress, but to be honest she was one of the weakest points about the year 3 cast. She just wasnāt Hermione to me. It was something about her voice and here lack of authority. Noma had an absolute authority on stage, her being minister for magic was totally believable. Franc tried to play her more playful, which I appreciated as a new interpretation. She tried something very different and I appreciate her for that. This new Hermione just really didnāt work for me personally, which again is super subjective and not a bad thing about her Hermione. She is someone elseās Hermione, just not mine.
Act one was really not my thing, but the first AU in act two was worse for me. I think Franc went for Hermione slowly losing her mind about being so frustrated over Ron, but she took it a bit too far for my taste. I prefer Nomaās more subtle interpretation. Sure Hermione is bitter in the AU, but I donāt see her that extreme. Of course this is also a subjective matter, but it really didnāt work for me at all.
Franc got a lot better in act 3 and 4 though. I really liked the remarry scene with Ron, it was a very sweet moment and she gained more authority on stage towards the end. She still wasnāt my favorite Hermione, but her performance was more enjoyable especially in the last act.
I think she is a good actress and there is nothing obviously wrong with her performance, just sometimes actors donāt agree with how you see a character and for some reason her Hermione just really didnāt work for me. I do appreciate her different take on Hermione though and I know that some people really love her Hermione and found their Hermione in her.
Ron Weasley - Thomas Aldridge
I simply loved Thomas. I didnāt think anyone could be funnier than Paul, but Thomas actually managed to pull it off. The office blocking scene was just simply hilarious and the whole theatre was in tears afterwards from so much laughing. I think Paul did the serious moments a little bit better, but honestly they are both just amazing and both do their own thing. I couldnāt even tell who I prefer. They are both just perfect and so lovable as Ron.
Thomas did the AU very well and seeing him that unhappy was sort of heart breaking. I missed a little bit of chemistry between him and Franc as Paul and Noma had such great chemistry together, but this could also be very subjective as I wasnāt the biggest fan of Franc and I may be a little bit biased here. The remarriage scene was very sweet though. With Thomas going on one knee to propose again. And I liked their kiss before the Dementors suck out their soul.
In conclusion I just love Thomas as Ron, he was amazing and Iām very happy to have seen him live. Itās great he is staying for another year.
Draco Malfoy - James Howard
At first I wasnāt too sure of how I would like James as Draco as he is very Lucius Malfoy like, but I actually really loved it. He is very different from Alex as he was very rough and made his own thing very different from the book Malfoys (which was one of the reasons I loved him so much), but Jamesā more book Malfoy interpretation worked as well and was even closer to canon. He looked very elegant and definetly more like a Malfoy and at the beginning he seemed very arrogant like itās Malfoy fashion. He was less of a brat (Alex was a very nasty brat at the beginning), but more arrogant and above other people similar to Lucius. It worked really great with how the Malfoy family appears in the books.
As the play progresses we see that this behavior is rather a facade and see the real Draco. And James nailed this. His scenes where he talks about Astoria were absolutely heart breaking and I donāt see how any Draco hater can get out of this play and not think that Draco was redeemed. He was softer than Alex and I really liked that. He wasnāt as funny, but the fight between Draco and Harry was still very enjoyable and funny.
I think James had great chemistry with Jonathan and Jamie and it all worked really great together. The hug between James and Jonathan at the end was just so adorable. You could feel how much Draco and Scorpius mean to each other. I actually ended up shipping Drarry a lot after the show although Iām usually not that big of a Drarry fan. But Jamesā and Jamieās chemistry was really good especially in the scene in Harryās office in act 4. You could feel how these two dads were bonding over their love for their kids.
James is a great Draco and there is a reason he is around since the original cast in 2016 (where he was Alexā understudy). He made Draco his own and Iām happy they made him main cast and that he will stay for another year. Sign me up at the James Fanclub š
Ginny Potter - Susie Trayling
To be totally honest I didnāt enjoy Susieās Ginny too much. She wasnāt bad and she is a solid actress, but she sadly didnāt do much with her role. I was never a big Ginny stan especially after the movies (I know I missed out on a great character),but Poppy made me fall in love with book Ginny. Her Ginny was fierce and full of fire, but also a soft and understanding mother and wife. She was Harryās rock to feel safe. Susie was very soft and she got the motherly part down quite well, but her Ginny was just too motherly and not enough fierce and interesting. She reminded me more of movie Ginny than book Ginny (which again I think some people could really love if they didnāt like Poppy as Ginny). The fire and the fierceness were missing at least in my opinion (which again is very subjective). She did have great moments and book Ginny did shine through now and then, but not often enough to really get me interested in Ginny as a character.
The chemistry between her and Jamie was alright, but because of her lack of emotion it never got more than that.
I think Jamie was really trying in the church scene and itās my favorite Hinny moment in the play, but she just didnāt give him enough back to make the scene really great. From the backstage videos I saw they can have great chemistry off stage (at least it seemed to me like that) so I think itās rather a problem with her interpretation of Ginny and her choice to play her so calm. The good thing that did work though was the comparison Harry made between Albus and Ginny at the end. Susieās Ginny and Joeās Albus were quite similar in how calm and collected they behaved. This comparison worked very well in this version of the play. Maybe she just had a bad day or I just canāt warm up to her interpretation. Donāt get me wrong she wasnāt bad, her acting was solid and good, she just didnāt do more than that. Again subjective (please donāt hate me šš»).
Rose Granger-Weasley - Helen Aluko
Rose doesnāt have such a big role in the play, but Helen is really good as Rose. Her Rose is more adorable and less bossy. I could see her very well as a young version of Hermione in something. She made Rose bossy but although sympathetic at the same time. She had good chemistry with everyone.
I really liked her, she is a good actress and Iām happy I saw her.
Severus Snape - David Annen
Snape doesnāt have a big role, but as he is my favorite character from the books the Snape scenes are really important to me. I adore Davidās Snape. He is everything I ever wanted from a book Snape adaptation. He is super sassy and mean, but still funny and serious. The patronus scene was beautiful and he nailed how I would imagine an older version of book Snape to be like. I liked him more than Paul, he did more his own thing whereas Paul tried to copy Alan Rickman a bit more.
David was also really great as Vernon Dursley (the scene was hilarious) and he was terrifying as Voldemort/ Harry as Voldemort. He had to play these very different characters and he nailed all of them.
David is my favorite adapted version of Snape and Iām very grateful I could see him live in this role. As a big Snape fan this meant a lot.
At the beginning I really liked her Delphi. She was especially lovely at the beginning making the reveal much more drastic. She had good chemistry with Joe and I actually really liked her āgoodā version of Delphi, itās a pitty it all was just pretense and this version actually doesnāt exist.
Her evil version of Delphi was a bit too much for me though. She had some great moments where she was threatening, but in a lot of scenes she went for Delphi totally losing her mind. I think she tried to make Delphi a bit like Bellatrix being totally mental. I prefer Delphi to be more serious as itās more threatening and easier to take serious.
She did a great job though and she made it very believable for Albus to fall for her as her Delphi was very lovable at the beginning.
The entire cast was pretty good. I really preferred Umbrigde and Bane this time and Hagrid and McGonagall (who was an understudy) were great too. No complains here. I would go more into detail, but this review is already longer than anticipated, so I just leave it as that.
I had a wonderful time seeing this play again and I was once again reminded why itās my favorite play. Itās such a beautiful story and production and I canāt put into words how grateful I am I could see this play again. I think I can see this play a thousand times and it never gets boring. The worst thing is after seeing it it just leaves you wanting to see it again.
If you have a chance I canāt recommend this play enough. I know itās very expensive and doesnāt play in a lot of countries, but if you can go: DO IT!!! Itās worth it. If you go in London, I think the year 3 cast is really good (now year 4 cast, but a lot of great people stayed, so!) and I totally recommend watching them. Soon (there already was š) there will be cast change, but Jonathan, James, Jamie, Susie and Thomas are staying for another year and the new actors looked lovely. London is a beautiful city with a lot of great theatre (seriously watch Everybodyās talking about Jamie, itās amazing), so thatās also a plus.
