#cast four

Death Eater Dance (Act Three, Scene One)

I had the nerdiest way of figuring out they’d changed this bit of choreography. At the very start, before anyone comes onstage, a wall of white light unfurls across the back of the stage, and I looked at it and thought ‘wow, that light doesn’t normally move so fast’. About two seconds later, the lead Death Eater stepped through it, which he’s never done before, casting a shadow, and I realised I had been right.

My first thought was is nothing sacred? On reflection, however, I absolutely love this new version of the dance (and I love how this cast performs it — I’ll say it again, they’re all great movers). 

The lead Death Eater stands at the back initially, watching and occasionally gesturing to direct those walking across the stage. It reminded me of a darker version of the Sorting Hat’s choreography from the opening of the show. 

After that things proceed in a very similar way to how they always have, but there are just enough little changes to throw the whole thing off kilter slightly, and I mean that in a good way. There’s a vibe that there’s something unsettling going on here, something slightly unexpected. The lines are clean and precise, but there’s an occasional lean or spiky gesture that throws the lines out of place. As a viewer you feel like Scorpius in that world — like the whole thing is unpredictable and untrustworthy, dangerous almost, and it leaves you on edge. 

My favourite moment for that is when all the Death Eaters are walking in their arrow head towards the back of the stage, and they suddenly all lean to the side. It’s a sharp movement that comes out of nowhere. Very jarring, as it should be. 

The other fun little detail at the end is that the Death Eaters sort of bow to Umbridge. It’s not quite a bow, more a sort of arms in the air, lean forward ‘all hail’ kind of motion, that feels so true to the dictatorial nature of this world and of Umbridge’s hold over the school. 

Inside Hogwarts (Act Three, Scenes Two, Four, and Five)

This section in the Voldemort timeline really emphasised for me how much I enjoy this cast’s Yann, Polly, and Karl. On Thursday we had Craig’s Karl doing a badass jumping, spinning high kick as he came on stage, and on Sunday we had Gordon’s brilliance (and slightly more restraint), which matched really well with Luke’s Yann. I noticed in both shows as well that Yann and Polly share a moment of eye contact as Yann goes off after confronting Scorpius. I like the idea that those two come as a pair. 

Polly’s scene on the stairs was really nice too. She seemed truly confused by Scorpius. At the end of the scene she starts walking down the stairs, but as the staircase is swept towards the wings she starts running back up them again, peering over the bannister and frowning down at Scorpius, like she wants to keep watching him for as long as possible to try and figure him out. It’s almost as if she realises that this isn’t her Scorpius, it implies a relationship with and knowledge of the Scorpion King that’s really interesting. There’s a lot to think about there. 

Have I mentioned before that Ronnie as Craig is wonderful? Even if I have it bears repeating a thousand more times. In the scene with Scorpius in the library he’s sort of skittish, constantly keeping his distance, shying away, head bowed. He’s just very sweet, with a soft northern accent. Not really pompous in any of the timelines. Just a good kid who wants to get on with his quiet life. Sadly it’s never going to happen for him...

My love affair with David’s blackboard writing is well documented, and over cast change he really delivered with some appropriately feelingsy Latin phrases. For cast four’s first show we had the perfect Carpe Diem — seize the day. It was such a sweet little message from Snape to a brilliant incoming cast, and I hope this will become a tradition now (just assuming that David will stay as Snape forever, which hopefully he will). 

Scorpius joins Dumbledore’s Army (Act Three, Scenes Eight and Nine)

There were definitely a few things to mention in the second half of the Voldemort timeline, so here’s a quick rundown:

It is an inescapable fact that on Thursday the Dementor trick didn’t work for Michelle. As far as I’m aware that’s only happened now three times in the history of the show, and it was heartbreaking to see it happen to someone on their first show in front of an audience. Thankfully on Sunday it worked, and I can only assume they practiced it about a thousand times on Friday because she was almost as quick as Tom that time (which is saying something because Tom has got really good at it).

There are some interesting new colours going on with the Time-Turner in Part Two, which I have a very underdeveloped theory for (I’ll work on it). It looks like whenever the Time-Turner is used in the past or an alternative timeline, the face is blue not yellow. Having said that, when Delphi uses it to take the boys back to the maze it’s also blue, and technically that’s from the restored timeline, so who knows! Also, just for fun, the gold Time-Turner (which is an entirely different entity) flashes pink when the adults arrive in Godric’s Hollow.

Jonathan feels like he’s pushing himself really hard and trying so many new things. I absolutely loved his interactions with the Dementors and hiding from Umbridge. He’s doing a wonderful job, and I think acting with Dom is going to bring some really fun new stuff out of him. 

On Broadway the Patronus is sort of lifted out of the floor already lit (I’ve only seen it once, but that was how I remember it and how it was described to me as well), and I think that might have made it to London now. From further back on Sunday I saw the Patronus very distinctly being lifted from the ground, and the clunky ignition is definitely a thing of the past. I’m not sure if the London trick is now exactly identical to Broadway’s (I doubt it, just because the abilities of the spaces are slightly different), but it’s certainly more similar now. 

Edge of the lake and McGonagall’s office (Act Three, Scenes Nine cont. and Ten)

Blythe’s McGonagall is so gorgeous, just a sunshiney human being. I loved how on Thursday she couldn’t stop herself from smiling at Scorpius’s antics as he came out of the lake. For as stern as she is, she also recognises a boy thrashing around in complete joy (and how can you not smile at Scorpius’s happiness? You’d have to be heartless).

No one will be surprised to hear that the gossip choreography has changed, just like everything else. There are a lot more people on stage at once, so there’s a lot going on. For me sometimes the interactions seem a little less clear, there’s no longer one message being passed in a clear sequence, but the chaos isn’t bad either. The weirdest bit for me is that Yann now, instead of being lifted off the stairs, sort of falls sideways over the bannisters. Also, at the end of the dance, the kids now end up on the stairs in a different order, with Karl at the bottom, below Rose, James above her, and then Yann and Craig at the top as they always were.

Once they’re all in McGonagall’s office, I have to mention Draco because he’s wonderful. When McGonagall called Scorpius brave, Draco lit up smiling at his son. He looked so unbelievably proud, it was stunning. Also, we all know about how he puts his hand up when he says ‘seems fair’, but it’s worth mentioning that Harry now also raises a hand to mock him. Petty idiots that they are. 

The dorm scene with Harry (Act Three, Scene Eleven)

I absolutely adored the dorm scene between Harry and Albus. It was a beautiful example of how similar Harry and Albus are. Not until they’re together on stage do you realise that Dom and Jamie B’s mannerisms are almost identical. They both twist their hands together and make a lot of gestures. At times they seemed to mirror each other. And then of course there’s the similarity in how heated they get. 

One of my favourite Dom lines in both of these two shows was ‘I know, okay? I know’. I don’t know why, but the word okay is a real speciality of his. It’s guaranteed to hit you in the feels no matter when or why he’s saying it. 

In this scene it was an explosion, accompanied by this big gesture with his hands. He’s so frustrated by Harry, all wound up and taught (his shoulders are constantly hunched, chin sticking out, a bit like a little turtle), you can see the tension in his body, and at a moment like this he can’t keep it all contained. The emotion bursts out in his tone of voice and in his gestures. 

The other really interesting thing from this scene is right at the end, when Harry mentions that Ginny was really scared by Albus running away. It seems as though Dom’s Albus takes that to mean that Harry wasn’t scared or worried. Harry didn’t really care. Ginny did, but he knew that already. And then of course Harry realises how Albus has received that and the mention of him being scared too comes almost as an afterthought, a clarification. Which is why Albus scoffs at it. ‘I thought Harry Potter wasn’t afraid of anything.’ 

This scoffing, sarcastic sharp Albus is so wonderful. He doesn’t have time for his dad’s crap. He doesn’t have the energy. Everything Harry says seems to confirm the worst for him, so while in this scene other versions of Harry and Albus have begun to connect, these two are driven even further apart.

The dorm scene with Scorpius (Act Three, Scene Fourteen)

Oh the glorious new antics that come with a cast change. This scene is a prime example of Jonathan trying new things and them working delightfully well. On Thursday not much was different, but by Sunday it was completely new.

Albus sleeps on his side most of the time, and in this scene he slept on right side, so he was facing into the room and towards Scorpius. So when Scorpius woke up he got off the bed and crawled across the floor to Albus, at exactly face height with him, and when he finally shouted Albus’s name, he was inches from Albus’s face. Albus essentially woke up to a face full of Scorpius attempting to be scary — as if the poor kid needed any more trauma. 

It’s the closest I’ve seen Jonathan (possibly any Scorpius) get to Albus when he’s yelling in his face, and it actually did look scary. It’s one of the most effective versions of the waking up yet, so I hope it stays.

There’s a really nice new line in this scene. When Scorpius tells Albus that he was fighting alongside him, Albus asks ‘really?’ I think it just emphasises how much Albus needs to hear Scorpius’s story. He’s so deep in his own despair, and feeling so guilty about having caused all this, that to hear that he had some hand in sorting it out is a real boost for him. It’s exactly what he needs to hear right then, and isn’t that what Delphi says? ‘You don’t know what he needs, you only know that he needs it.’

Owlery Scene (Act Three, Scene Sixteen)

There are some new lines in this scene! As if anyone didn’t know. 

Essentially, the order in which Albus and Scorpius exchange lines throughout the scene has been switched (I think in its entirety, but I can’t be sure because I keep forgetting there are new lines until ‘and wake up everyone in Hogwarts’ jars me halfway through). But basically, now Scorpius is the one making all the suggestions (even the stupid ones) while Albus shoots them down, and I’m still not sure what I think of that.

Before I really enjoyed that Albus was making ridiculous suggestions and Scorpius was vetoing them, because then it came to Godric’s Hollow there was a nice switch, with Scorpius making all the suggestions until Albus came up with the big one. So now it feels like Albus doesn’t really suggest anything until he solves it right at the end.

I suppose you could argue that that makes sense character wise. Scorpius is the more magically knowledgeable, Albus at that point is lacking in confidence, and I feel like as a planner Albus is probably the more inclined of the two to sit in silence and think before speaking. 

But at the same time I liked how Albus’s reckless energy came out in this scene. Particularly with Joe there was a sense of fun and freedom, that they were about to end at least some of their problems. It was nice to see the two of them unleash their more ridiculous sides, and it showed so much of their friendship. Perhaps the scene still does that, but I don’t think it does it in quite the same way.

I know we get ‘let’s make history’ out of it so we can’t really complain, but as nice as that line is, and as strong as it is as a line that sums up their relationship, I don’t know if even that has the power of what’s been taken away. I’ll have to have a few more watches.

A quick shoutout to Jonathan in this scene though. I love how his Scorpius sits up straight, crosses his legs, and prepares to go into full, slightly sanctimonious, lecture mode as he says ‘I think it’s a much underestimated part of modern witchcraft’. We’ve always known that if Delphi didn’t interrupt the scene would go on with the boys arguing for hours, but it’s never been more apparent. That lecture alone is about to last at least a good ten minutes until Albus gets bored and threatens to do something stupid to make him stop.

But Delphi does interrupt, and that’s when the fun begins. 

I mentioned earlier that Madeleine’s Delphi curtsies a couple of times during the show, and this is the second of those. When Scorpius calls her The Augurey she acknowledges it with a little bob. She also emphasises the ‘The’ in The Augurey when she repeats the title. She seems so pleased by the idea of being the one and only, someone really unique and important. 

The interesting thing about Madeleine’s Delphi is that she doesn’t seem to change much after the reveal. When I first saw her I was almost disappointed by that, because she seemed to be playing Albus and Scorpius so hard, but now I actually love it. The fact that she can be bubbly and nerdy and young but also a heartless torturer is really creepy, and it seems quite real too. She’s someone with a mask so good that it’s part of her, and even once she’s shown her true nature, that thing that was attractive to Albus and Scorpius never quite goes away. That’s still in there. 

Sunday’s Owlery Scene provided the perfect start to the torture sequence, setting a momentum that never let up. It was one of the most exciting torture scenes I’ve seen, and I’m willing to bet that it won’t be long before we see some of the wildest torture scenes ever from this cast. 

Torture Scene & the maze (Act Three, Scenes Nineteen and Twenty)

This whole sequence is one of the most difficult for a new cast to nail, and on Thursday I didn’t particularly like it much, but on Sunday it absolutely blew me away. 

It all began with Delphi kissing Scorpius on the cheek. It’s always particularly gross to see her kiss him, not Albus, probably because she has no interest in him whatsoever, but also because it psychologically affects both boys, and that’s her ultimate aim. To break them both.

There was a great rhythm to this version of the scene. Each element was given time, but it didn’t feel slow. Delphi torturing Scorpius for the first time and Albus running at her were two very distinct actions. You could hear exactly what Albus yelled, and it meant that when he was knocked back by her spell and collapsed in a heap on the ground, all eyes were on him. (Dominic makes that knockback spell look much more lethal than anyone else ever has, and I love that because it’s just like her. She wouldn’t not hurt Albus simply because he’s useful, and I like that he gets his fair share of pain.)

Once Albus is on the ground he stays there through the second torture and Craig’s death. There’s a new scream of Albus’s name before Craig runs on, and I’m convinced it’s Craig, but others have reckoned it’s Scorpius. It’s very difficult to tell, but I’ll keep an eye on it (cause I’d love to know who it is). 

When Ronnie dies, he throws himself straight back onto the table that catches him, and he ends up falling with both feet off the floor. I love the idea of the AK blasting Craig off his feet, and there’s something morbidly beautiful about him falling to the ground in slow motion (which in a way mirrors Delphi’s fall from grace later). It could be that the boys are just seeing it in slow motion thanks to their horror, or it could be that the AK really does slow everything down like that. 

There were a couple of other noteworthily creepy bits and pieces in this scene. On both Thursday and Sunday, Delphi held Scorpius by the chin while she talked to him and Albus, before throwing him aside like a piece of rubbish so he collapsed to the ground. Also on Sunday she held him so close to her face that they were inches apart, while telling Albus that if he didn’t help her, Scorpius would die. It was horrifying. 

Moving into the next scene, I have to give a shoutout to Gordon as Krum. He was perfect. Clean and sharp and precise. The other person who was perfect was Ryan as Cedric. On Sunday we had the most beautiful little interaction between him and Albus.

Dom’s Albus doesn’t sit or kneel down in this scene, so when he interacts with Cedric he’s standing. He still looks small and nervous, shoulder rounded, but it takes so much boldness to reach out like he does. It’s so brave. And on Sunday it was said with just the right amount of softness. Sort of stammered, blurted out at first, but then more considered the second time. I don’t think Dom’s Albus will ever be quiet, but he’s thoughtful and gentle as well as fierce. It’s such a perfect mix, and it makes this scene work so well. 

With cast three Ryan was good, but he’s really come into his own this year already. His Cedric has just the right nobility, but he also seems perplexed by Albus. He doesn’t know what to make of this strange boy, and that confusion is tangible throughout the scene, even when he says thank you. But he has courage too, because as uncertain as he is (he even thinks twice before freeing the boys), he still accepts Albus’s words. These are two boys putting themselves out there and blindly trusting, even in the midst of so much fear and uncertainty. It’s gorgeous to watch.

On Sunday this whole sequence finished perfectly with a shower of glitter in the air (on Thursday it all fell straight to the floor). The boys had so much energy and dynamism as they tried to work out what to do. The whole thing was fabulous. Full of life and interest, and it’s only going to get better. 

Delphi’s room (Act Three, Scene Twenty-One)

There’s a really cool new creepy purple light in Delphi’s room. When Ginny takes the lightbulb off the wall, the diamond behind it starts glowing with the purple light, ready to spread and illuminate the whole room. It also emits puffs of smoke that curl across the scene. It really works, accompanying the Parseltongue to instantly suggest that they’ve found something here. 

Godric’s Hollow (Act Four, Scenes Three and Five)

There were some really sweet little moments throughout the two Godric’s Hollow scenes (as there always are).

I love watching how Albus hides (or attempted to hide) from Bathilda. His idiot side comes out, and he does delightful things like freezing in plain view and pretending not to exist. Dom was no exception, and he went pretty much face first into the wall. If she can only see his back, he’s not there, right? (Wrong, Albus, but you’re adorable so we’ll let you off.)

When Scorpius was freaking out about Bathilda, Albus did a little ‘breathe’ gesture. It’s something that Joe used to do a long time ago, and James does it as Draco sometimes after Scorpius and Draco hug. I adore the fact that both Jonathan’s associated Albuses and his Draco have all agreed that he doesn’t breathe enough, and are all on a collective mission to remind him to do so. There’s something sweet about the fact that all these people have separately come to the same conclusion about the role they need to play in relationship with this boy. 

At the beginning of the second Godric’s Hollow section, Albus and Scorpius duck under their dads’ arms and walk in a circle around the stage before taking up their thinking positions. On Thursday they did this, and on Sunday Jonathan did it, but Dom did something way more interesting. Instead of walking in the circle, he paced back and forth across the stage a couple of times, gesturing silently like he was thinking aloud. 

It reminded me of what Samuel used to do during the part of the Voldemort timeline where Scorpius is explaining to Ron and Hermione in slow mo about the Time-Turner and the other timelines. He’d pace around, making talking gestures with his hands, and ultimately arrive in his final position with the conversation almost mid-flow. 

When Dom finally sat down on the doorstep on Sunday, he started talking and it felt like he’d been thinking and talking for hours and that we just happened to have tuned in on this bit of the conversation. It was very cool to see an Albus so obviously mid-planning. That little bit of movement worked incredibly well, and I hope it stays. 

Dom and Jonathan’s version of the eureka moment felt more measured than others. There was still lots of energy, but there wasn’t lots of running and leaping around the stage. In a way that was quite nice, because it kept the focus on the fact that they actually had to make this plan happen now. 

One of the best bits of their celebration was actually the moment when they opened Bathilda’s door and did a delighted double high five. I love it when the boys do recognisable best friend things, and that one really resonated with me because just a week earlier in a moment of sheer joy I’d done exactly the same thing. It felt really right. 

My other favourite little detail from this scene was the fact that Dom’s Albus, exactly as it says in the script, didn’t seem entirely sure how to pronounce demiguises. There was a minute hesitation there, and he said it almost as a question. I think of all the Albus’s I’ve seen, Dom’s is instantly the one that most takes me back to those details from the script, which is lovely. 

The adults arrive in Godric’s Hollow (Act Four, Scenes Six, Seven, and Eight)

Ever since Cast Three, the scene where Harry and Ginny find the blanket, especially the line ‘we’re starting with Dad’, has become an absolute favourite of mine. Dom’s Albus is so adamant about that line, in his own firm, fierce way. I love how that line shows Albus starting to assert that he wants some sort of relationship with Harry. It’s such an important moment for the character, and when it’s delivered with such power it really sings out. 

I also want to talk about Harry and Ginny’s interaction at the start of this scene in Albus’s room, because it’s the culmination of an arc that really starts with that new silent interaction they have in the scene by the map back in Act One. There’s a really interesting conflict established in their relationship. Although Ginny understands that Harry is trying, her priority is Albus, and Harry keeps pushing him away. It happens in the blanket scene, in the second timeline, in the dorm scene, and now here he is in Albus’s room, and there’s almost a sense of judgement in Ginny’s ‘surprised to find you here’, which instantly puts Harry on the defensive. The conflict seems set to continue, but then, instead of fighting, they take a breath and start talking.

This is a scene that sees them, in a real mature way, address the conflict they’ve had and apologise to one another for it. They forgive each other in just a couple of short lines and instantly start working together and comforting one another. In a sense, it’s the strength of Harry and Ginny’s relationship that saves Albus and Scorpius. If they’d fought instead of coming together and talking maybe they’d have never found the message on the blanket.

I can’t write about the arrival in Godric’s Hollow without mentioning James Howard — you know how it is. Once the hug with Scorpius is over, Draco sets about trying to calm his son down. He puts a hand on his shoulder or reminds him to breathe. Recently, as part of this, he’s started cupping Scorpius’s cheek with his hand, as both a reminder to focus and a gesture of intimacy. 

I love the juxtaposition of that gesture. There’s the size of Draco’s hand, the heaviness of the rings on his fingers, the perception the world has of everything Draco is — dark and dangerous, maybe even cruel. And yet the gesture is so tender and gentle. It’s his past versus his present almost, everything coming together in this one moment to show the person he’s become. I love that something so simple can mean so much, especially coming from that particular character.

As the action moves into St Jerome’s Church, it’s worth a mention that the blocking in the transition has changed slightly. The pumpkins now all line up, and then form a sort of diamond shape, instead of the blob that they used to. 

St Jerome’s (Act Four, Scenes Nine, Ten, and Eleven)

Albus now sleeps the other way round on the bench in St Jerome’s. He used to have his head facing the audience, but now it faces the centre door. I was wondering whether it’s so people can see his face during the scene (not that it does much during that scene). Although the show sends very mixed messages on this. There’s a point in the scene where Ginny walks away from Albus to talk to Harry by the door, and when she does, the light that is on Albus slowly fades out so Albus is in shadow. We’re definitely not meant to be looking at Albus at the time (and I always feel like the lighting is calling me out for doing so) but in my defence, sometimes it’s nice to watch him all peaceful like that. 

There’s some slightly new positioning in the main St Jerome’s scene. Hermione now stands directly behind Scorpius, so when Albus asks what the history books say it could feasibly be a question directed at either of them. 

I adore how proud of Scorpius Draco looks when Ron says ‘blimey, there’s two of them’. Scorpius glances back at him, and Draco gives him a big, warm smile. It must be so nice for Scorpius to finally be bathed in his dad’s approval, especially after everything he’s been through. 

Jonno and Nicholas have ruined ‘Draco, trust my dad’ for me forever, so I was very grateful that Dominic made the decision to stand about as far from Draco as he could get when he said that line. In fact Albus was right next to Harry, and he kind of glanced at Harry as he said it too. I love it when that line is really for Harry, and when Harry takes it as the gift that it is. He sometimes looks at Ginny afterwards, who smiles at him to tell him he’s done well. 

I made it my business to make sure that I could see Albus and Scorpius at the back of the stage during Harry’s transformation, and I spotted Scorpius holding tight to Albus’s arm as Albus stared in horror at what was happening to his dad. Sometimes it feels like Scorpius is all that’s supporting Albus during that moment, and that Albus might collapse without him there. 

When the Malfoys are watching for Harry and Delphi by the door, Draco puts a hand on Scorpius’s shoulder, and Scorpius jumps out of his skin. It’s sad how unused to being touched he is. It’s like when he tries to run away when Draco goes over to hug him. Jonathan’s Scorpius is so skittish around physical touch (including from Albus).

The final battle (Act Four, Scene Eleven cont. and Twelve)

One of the changes with this cast is that Delphi’s voice manipulation has sort of come back. It’s not the same effect as it used to be, where she’d sort of throw her voice around the auditorium, now it’s a more subtle effect that’s applied directly to her speech. There’s a darker, hoarser voice beneath hers that’s a kind of homage to the original trick, and I’m actually really glad it’s back. 

There are a bunch of different possible inspirations for the name Delphi, but one of them is the oracle of Delphi, an Ancient Greek prophet. It links to the fact that she has a new prophecy, and obviously in Harry Potter, true prophecies are spoken in that hoarse, deep voice. I like the connection to that, and with the importance of a prophet as a speaker, a teller of truth and setter of agendas. 

Delphi’s voice manipulation always had real meaning to me. There was a reason to it being there, even if in a narrative sense it sort of came out of nowhere (the trick isn’t introduced to the show before St Jerome’s, which I think I most other things are). There’s no real foreshadowing of it, which is perhaps why it was originally cut. But I am very glad it’s back. 

In this show what I want is to see changes with meaning, purpose, and thought. Changes that have the same level of artistry and love to them as was applied to the original show. Not all of the new changes seem to have that, but I think this one does, so I’m very happy to have it. 

A less successful change in this scene is that they now very briefly unhook Delphi from the wires so she can walk to the front of the stage, before going back and getting hooked on again two seconds later. On Sunday the result was that her face was in darkness for some key bits of dialogue (they took the spotlight off her while someone was unhooking her). It seemed really random and unnecessary, and I get that it’s desirable to show her getting near the pool of light Harry is trying to entice her towards, but ultimately it seems like so much work and faff for very little gain. Hopefully it’ll be smoother next time I see it, but at the moment it’s not really working. 

At the end of this scene, I absolutely loved Delphi’s ‘fall from grace’. As she fell from the air she flapped around, and it looked like a bird whose wing had been injured, which worked so much better than her going horizontal and staying totally still — when she does that it looks like she’s dead, which she’s obviously not. 

Once Delphi had been bound she was really feisty. She snapped at Ron when he grabbed hold of her to keep her still, and then when Albus is telling the others he’s seen her murder she goaded him, giving him a big evil grin, daring him to do it. 

On the subject of Albus during that line, it was one of the most beautiful and effective deliveries I’ve seen. Dom’s Albus runs at Delphi, like he really does intend to try and kill her. It’s almost like Albus has forgotten his wand. All he wants is to get to her and strangle her with his bare hands for what she’s done. He was so desperate to get to her that Harry had to put real physical effort into holding him back, and even Ginny ran round to grab hold of Albus’s arm and help restrain him. 

I love that as a detail because this is the first moment that Albus has had physical power over Delphi since she first bound him and Scorpius. This is his first opportunity to get back at her for the torture she’s put them through and the fact that she murdered Craig. Everything he’s just seen and been through comes bubbling to the surface and he wants her to feel the same pain that he’s been feeling. It’s one of his most powerful moments, and even though it’s misguided, I love that grey side of Albus, the side that is desperate for revenge, the side that is in so much pain that he’s ready to snap. It’s what makes him human as a character. And the fact that Harry and Ginny fight to hold him back as hard as they do shows such love and commitment to him. They’re going to help him stay on the right path no matter what. There’s no judgement associated with it, they perfectly understand why Albus wants to do what he wants to do, but the simple fact is that it’s not the right thing, in fact it’s what Delphi wants, and they’re going to protect Albus from causing himself even more pain by acting emotionally in a moment when his trauma is still so fresh. 

When Albus did finally back off, he and Harry ended up gripping each other’s forearms for a moment, and there was something mutually supportive about that. It’s a band of brothers sort of gesture. They’re in this together. They understand each other. And they’re going to get through it together. 

Another moment of Albus supporting Harry comes during the death scene. I actually saw two different versions of this, because Dominic did it slightly different on both the Thursday and the Sunday. 

On Sunday he gently took Harry’s wand from his hand (Joe style) when he said ‘there is something you could do, to stop him. But you won’t’. It was like he was taking the lesson his parents had just taught him, and the compassion they’d shown him, and was passing it back to his dad by disarming him so he wasn’t tempted to do anything he’d regret. It was a beautiful little reflection of exactly what had gone before. Subtle and quiet and loving. 

On Thursday it was much more of an emotional struggle. When Harry collapsed to the ground after Lily was killed, Albus was holding onto Harry’s wand at the same time as Harry, and was trying to wrestle it out of his hand. Harry’s grip was so strong that it was impossible, so they ended up kneeling next to each other, struggling together, as they were spun away into darkness. Albus was much more desperate about trying to disarm Harry on Thursday, and he didn’t manage it, but just the attempt was really powerful. And the fact that it came at such an emotional moment was beautiful. It wasn’t clear what Harry was going to try and do about what he’d just seen, but he was in such desperation that perhaps anything would have done, and Albus was trying to relieve him of that desperate temptation. 

A big shout out has to go to Ryan, Lucy, and David for their death scene, particularly on Sunday. When I say that Ryan has come into his own with this cast this is the sort of thing I mean. The raw emotion of his performance was breathtaking and so powerful. Lucy was brilliant too, and David brought a creepy softness to parts of the scene that made it spine chilling. 

Penultimate scene (Act Four, Scene Fourteen)

The biggest thing to talk about in this scene is the hug, if that’s what it can be called. This Albus and Scorpius have some truly awkward hugs, which are very sweet but they’re a massive disaster. In this one they ended up doing a lot of patting of each other’s shoulders, chests, arms, hands, and just generally looking like they didn’t quite know what to do with their hands anymore once they’d hugged. Did they want a second hug? Did they want a friendly pat on the back? Who knows! Not me. Possibly not even them. 

The best thing about this scene though is that it was a return to happy Albus. When Dom’s Albus smiles you can see it from miles around. It’s this enormous oval grin, and it’s adorable. I love Dom’s Albus’s capacity for happiness, and it’s nice to see Albus have that side again after two very depressed Albuses in a row. 

Final scene (Act Four, Scene Fifteen)

The ending of the show is sprung upon you in this new version of the show, because they’ve arranged the order of the lines, so lines that used to mark the gateway to the end of the show have now been switched with lines that were a bit earlier on in the scene. It means that as a viewer you’re relaxed thinking you’ve got plenty of scene left to enjoy, and then suddenly Harry and Albus are looking at Cedric’s grave and it’s seconds from the end. 

Basically, the scene goes as normal until about halfway through the section where Albus is talking about his Slytherin side. At that point Harry addresses his names and why they shouldn’t be a burden before going back to the part where he tells Albus his heart is a good one. In a way, the names are used as an explanation of why Albus is fine just the way he is. They’re more integrated into the scene in a way, and I didn’t mind the change (although some people have argued that it interrupts the flow of the scene a bit). 

During this scene, Dom’s Albus sort of hid among the gravestones, keeping his distance from Harry until the very end. He was still clearly anxious around his dad, but when he eventually let go of his inhibitions he was rewarded with one of the most glorious final hugs we’ve ever seen. 

Jamie B and Joe used to share a really tight, warm hug as the lights faded at the end of the scene, but they would always wait until they were almost entirely in darkness. It felt more like them embracing as two actors who’ve just gone through something emotionally exhausting together, and I don’t think Joe’s version of Albus would have hugged his dad like that. However, with Dom, essentially the same hug now begins before the lights have started going down. It becomes much more part of the characters, and I think that shows a real different between Dom and Joe’s Albuses. 

By the end of the show Joe’s Albus still had a long way to go, and he was always going to be a bit of an awkward, miserable teenager. Whereas Dom’s Albus feels much more on the verge of things being okay. He’s happy to accept a hug like that and for it to feel like a sign of things to come. His ending of the show is less about hope and more about arrival — he and Harry are already there, and everything is okay. 

*

So that’s the recap (which got very long, sorry about that...). One final thing to mention before wrapping up is that when you think the show has run out of things to change, they go and make all the post-curtain call music different too. Typical. 

The changes this year are many and overwhelming. The first time I saw them they were almost exhausting because there was a feeling that nothing was the same anymore. But actually, I think a lot of them are good, and we’ll get used to them soon enough, especially when they’re being performed by a cast like this. 

David Mara — Station Master

If I had to pick anyone to step into Martin’s shoes, it would have been David. He was great in every role I saw him cover last year, and he was great in this role too. I like the strange whistle he does at the start of the scene — it reminds me of someone else who used to do proper signalling style whistles — and it’s fun to watch him looking with confusion at the boys as they chat in their corner (although I am concerned by how much he must overhear). I can’t wait to see this scene develop over the year.

Lucy Mangan — Myrtle

I think Lucy’s going to be a really excellent Myrtle (and I can’t wait to see her cover Delphi too). There were some great over the top little touches to her portrayal. When she did ‘the weeping after he was taken’, she cried once then stopped, cried again then stopped, then one of the boys started trying to talk so she held a hand up to stop him while she cried a third time. It’s ridiculous little details like that, which make me most excited to see her again. 

Blythe Duff — Professor McGonagall

They honestly couldn’t have found a better person to take over from Sandy. Blythe is the first McGonagall not to have the Maggie Smith look, but that actually made me love her more. It was her warmth and charm and sparkle that made her feel like McGonagall, and I would probably fight to the death for her already.

Her Trolley Witch was also gorgeous. I’ve seen many Trolley Witch debuts over the years, and even ones I ultimately come to love have felt disappointing first time round, but not this one. She captured the right feeling of ancient, authoritative power so perfectly. I cannot wait to see her again.

Gordon Millar as Karl

Our first cover of the year, and what a good one. On Wednesday and Thursday he went straight onto my ‘must watch’ list, so a big part of me deciding to go for a ticket on Sunday was the desire to see him. 

His Karl is actually quite sweet (which I think stems from Gordon being a lovely, funny human being), but in the St Oswald’s scene Gordon’s character is an absolute — to put it bluntly — dick. He’s a bully, a nasty piece of work, and it really helps the scene (more on that later). I also loved Gordon’s Krum a lot. This one has great movement (like seemingly everyone in the cast), and I cannot wait to see more of him.

Luke Sumner and Emma-May Uden as Yann and Polly

I feel bad lumping these two together but in the show they really did come as a pair. They were perfect fake, popular, nasty individuals. I’ve never hated Yann and Polly more, and I mean that in the best possible way. They were just the sort of people who would bully Albus and Scorpius, and I loved it.

Ronnie Lee as Craig

My heart belongs to Ronnie. There was just something so likeable about him. Sometimes Craig feels like a little ray of sunshine, and that’s just how it should be. Also, I appreciate the boldness of someone who’ll full on lie on the death table, with both feet in the air, so it looks like they’ve been blasted off their feet and are falling to the ground in slow motion. That was an excellent death.

Another thing I noticed about Ronnie was his dance talent. There was a Mackley-esque fierceness to his Death Eater dance, and he was just generally brilliant at the movement. This whole cast is so noticeably strong on the movement — possibly the strongest so far.

Also, while I’m talking about Ronnie I have to mention the other two members of the most adorable trio of Slytherin boys ever — there’s Gordon, as mentioned above, and Duncan Shelton. They had some chants going on in the first task, some excitable stampy feet, and just lots of general sweetness. I can’t wait to get to know these three better. They’re going to be brilliant.

Kathryn Meisle as Umbridge

One of our very first Hogwarts foreign exchange students. I thought she did a really good job, and I particularly thought her Petunia was good. Also, she did a little skip when she was going off after telling Scorpius he was ruining Voldemort, which was just the perfect touch of sweet, girlish, disgusting Umbridge.

Madeleine Walker as Delphi

I had two first impressions of Madeleine as Delphi. First, I don’t know how many of you have seen Puffs, but in terms of attitude and eyeliner she looked just like Megan — like she’s trying to be edgy but is actually just a nerd. My other first impression, related to that, was that Delphi was exactly the sort of person that Albus and Scorpius would want to be friends with. 

She’s awkward and nerdy and has the same vibe as they do. It’s easy to see how well she’s playing them, especially in Part One. But at the same time, once she’s revealed her true self she doesn’t change much, and there’s something very creepy about that. This person who seems so harmless and nice has all this evil lurking literally right under the surface, and she holds very little of herself back. 

It should also be said that at some point this year, Madeleine is going to deliver the wildest Torture Scene we’ve ever had. Even on Sunday she absolutely blew me away, and it’s only going to get better. I’m so excited. 

Michelle Gayle as Hermione

I liked Michelle‘s Hermione. She had a bit of the know-it-all vibe, and her Hermione felt quite young. There was this obvious relation to book Hermione that worked well. I particularly liked her scene in Harry’s office right at the start of the play. She felt like Harry’s friend from the books. I also think that she’s got a lot of great thoughts about the character, and I can’t wait to see her engage with them throughout her performance and develop them over the year.

She made a great attempt to play Delphi Polyjuiced, which I really appreciated. That was a big highlight from her. It’s surprising how rare it is to see the adults actually try to replicate what the kids are doing (aside from Jamie B, who’s a master of the art).

Rayxia Ojo as Rose

Rayxia’s back, and it’s wonderful. Her Rose has always seemed so grown up and mature, and next to Dominic’s Albus she feels particularly so, just because she looks so tall beside him. It’s weird because in all the ensemble scenes she’s one of the shortest people around. Anyway, it’s great to have her back in the show, she works wonderfully with Michelle (there’s a similarity of character there that’s really nice), and I can’t wait to see more from her.

Ryan Mackay as James

I’ve seen Ryan as James a few times before, and always enjoyed him, but he seems to have come into his own with this cast. He particularly owned the Lily and James death scene, and it was uncanny how much he and Dom looked like brothers when they were standing near each in the opening scene. I also adored his Cedric, particularly on Sunday, and he has a very fine background moment in St Oswald’s that I truly think helps make the scene palatable. I’m so pleased he gets an expanded role with this cast and seems to be flourishing with it. 

Dominic Short as Albus

Sometimes when I watch someone play a character in this show for the first time I feel an instant comfort in their portrayal, and that was how I felt with Dom. It was a mixed blessing because I felt so comfortable and confident in him that I didn’t pay him as much attention as I should have done (there was lot to take in), but I really loved him. Thankfully, on Sunday I get to pay a lot closer attention to him, and he absolutely blew me away. Even from near the back of the stalls his expressiveness drew me in. 

His Albus has a certain happiness to him. He’s less broken than the last couple have been. There’s genuine jubilation in his portrayal at certain moments, like when he casts some of the spells successfully and when they figure out how to get a message to Harry.

There are many moments when he reminded me vividly of Sam’s Albus (which will never be a problem), and I loved the flashes of anger and emotion. On first viewing I felt that he was quite a young Albus, especially after Joe whose Albus was quite mature and surprisingly thoughtful. However, on second viewing he felt a lot more self-aware, and there was some real tenderness there. Some absolutely beautiful moments.

One of my favourite things about him was that in Part One he feels wrapped up in his own problems, and you can clearly see the spiral from an enthusiastic boy looking forward to going to Hogwarts to an angry, miserable, withdrawn young man by fourth year. The transition scene was perfectly played in that regard.

I really was very impressed by him. I think he’s the Albus they’ve been trying to cast since the show opened. He has Sam’s fierce anger and prickliness, with Theo’s emotion, Joe’s humour, and an ability to adapt and change to what’s going on around him. We’re only at the start and already he’s sparking my imagination and making me desperate to see more. This is going to be the most excellent year.

*

So, with those first impressions out of the way, let’s get into some changes and great character moments.

Opening and transition scene (Act One, Scenes One to Four)

The weird thing about a first show, especially one in which the person playing the Sorting Hat is staying the same, is that for the first few seconds nothing feels different. It could be any other show. But then the first member of the ensemble walks out and you realise that everything has changed.

There’s a new bit of choreography in the first scene that I was pre-warned of but of course completely forgot about until it happened, so it took me by surprise. The Sorting Hat (who now wears glasses as part of his costume – fun facts) stands in the middle of the stage and manipulates the people around him. There’s a whole group that he diverts with a flash of light, a man he turns round with a gesture, and he makes the woman at the front of the stage walk round her suitcase.

As someone who loves the Sorting Hat, his role in the play, and what it means, the whole interaction felt a bit random. It’s obviously a flashy opening to the show, with a bit of magic, but I’ve never seen the Sorting Hat as a manipulator. I’ve realised recently that he’s a protector and guardian of the boys (particularly of Scorpius) in the same way that Hagrid is a protector of Harry, and he’s also the bringer of magic to the show, but this doesn’t seem to add anything to that. If anything, there needed to be more of the manipulation – there were only three interactions, so it didn’t actually make that much of an impact on someone seeing it of the first time. To me it ought to be go big or go home.

On the second viewing I realised that technically bringing Harry onto Platform 9 3/4 could count as one of the manipulations (it’s got the same sound effect associated with it), and I also realised that he never seems to touch a group that has Delphi in. So maybe there is some meaning in there if you dig a bit.

The first big line change is Lily’s line in the opening scene, which is no longer ‘Are they here? Maybe they didn’t come’. It’s not her wondering whether the Granger-Weasleys are late, and lamenting that they’re always late. Thankfully this isn’t a line from the epilogue, so the change doesn’t really have that much impact. It’s another of the random changes that we now see throughout the show – ones that don’t really make much of a difference, and it’s unclear why they were made.

In this opening scene, seeing Dom and Ryan side by side showed how perfect their casting as brothers is. They look so similar, particularly in face shape. 

Watching this cast for a second time from a distance let me appreciate a really cool James moment properly for the first time. When Albus is being sorted, James and Scorpius are on complete opposite sides of the stage, perfectly symmetrical, and they’re the only two people in the crowd picked out by a spotlight, which illuminates both their faces. It’s like Albus’s Sorting is visibly tearing him between his family and his new best friend, and it lets you see both their reactions perfectly — James’s bewilderment and Scorpius’s disbelieving excitement. 

Going back to the opening scene, we got to see the first glimpse of Dom’s Albus before anything happens to him. There’s a youthful joy there. He laughs at Ron’s jokes and seems to be relaxed around his family. He’s genuinely excited to be going to Hogwarts. Until he gets there…

There are directions throughout the transition scene that with each passing year, Albus gets more withdrawn and miserable, and that’s just how Dom played it. You could see the process of Albus becoming increasingly demoralised with life at Hogwarts, and it was wonderful. Right from the start, Dom had such ownership over Albus, putting his stamp on the role, and even just the first scene made me excited to see him in Part Two – it was an excellent start.

In the first show everything was technically perfect, but in the show on Sunday, the fire didn’t work on the Incendio trick. However, Dom’s cover for it was perfect, and added something to the character. He just sighed very heavily and sort of threw his hands in the hair as he said he didn’t expect it to work anyway. I never realised before how that line is so open to all possibilities.

The next few obvious changes came in the transition scene: Scorpius now offers Rose a rose in London (is it a trick rose? It looked like it had a collapsible stem to me), also, when the boys’ potion explodes, the kids around Albus and Scorpius flop forwards instead of bending backwards. And then, of course, you get the wand dance.

Dominic was so bold in the wand dance, which I really enjoyed. Nothing was held back and everything was extended and gone for. There was actually lots I loved about the new choreography in this scene too (I think it was one of the biggest successes of all the changed elements). There are lots of circles and lines, and my favourite moment was when all the other kids circled round Albus, leaning in and looming over him. I also liked that he got a moment to fit in and help the others – just a brief flash of success, that must be all the more painful for being so fleeting.

The new wand dance begins with a big flashy trick – the current shot of fire now connects up to a sort of flaming rope on the ceiling, so that brief spark flies all the way from the bottom to the top of the stage. It ends with the usual red smoke, and one of the other kids taunting Albus: “Even his wand wants to be in Gryffindor”.

To briefly backtrack, I need to give a quick shoutout to Dom’s “I stayed for your sweets” from Sunday. He did a little dad dance as he said it, and I can only describe it as like he was milking a cow. A little up and down motion with his hands, fists clenched. I know it sounds weird (this show has made me write some very bizarre descriptive phrases) but he made it work, even if he did look like a ridiculous nerd doing it. 

Blanket Scene (Act One, Scenes Six and Seven)

I really liked the introduction to Delphi in the scene before the Blanket Scene. Her conversation with Albus is really sweet, and she curtised to him before she went off to talk to Amos (the first of two curtsies in the show — the second was to Scorpius when he called her The Augurey). 

One of her finest moments was when she shook hands with Harry and looked at the scars on his hand. You could feel her reading ‘I must not tell lies’ and mentally calling him out for lying right in front of her. After all, he does know about the Time-Turner, she knows he does, and she also knows that he’s lying to Amos. It was such a powerful, silent moment of judgement. A gorgeous little detail.

In the Blanket Scene itself, I adored how Dom’s Albus interacted with his siblings. Because I was so far away for the Sunday show I couldn’t actually see or hear Albus laughing at James’s antics, but I could see his shoulders bouncing from the laughter. And then when Lily comes in looking for her Potions book, Albus holds his hands up to say it’s not his fault. It’s only when Harry comes into the room that he finally sits down, perched on the edge of the bed, and from that moment he never really relaxed or seemed comfortable. His space had been invaded, and he tensed up almost immediately. 

Once they got into the scene itself, we found an angry Albus, who wasn’t afraid to raise his voice and fight back. At no point did he seem even close to accepting the blanket, and there was an expression on his face that said that he hated his dad’s reasoning for giving it to him. He knew the gift was all about Harry, and he detested it right from the word go.

One of the things I noticed about Dom’s Albus was how he always shrank back, never holding his ground. He ended up occupying parts of the stage that people don’t normally go to – only by a few centimetres sometimes, but it was still noticeable. In this scene he was pushed well back beyond the bed, and again in the final scene he hid among the graves, keeping a physical distance from Harry. In this particular scene it worked really well, the shrinking away, closing himself off, as Harry got more heated. I also loved that he said the final line of the scene the original way round: ‘No luck or love for me then’. 

Dom’s is one of the angriest Blanket Scenes we’ve had for a while. He really explodes, and it’s wonderful. He fully unfolds the blanket when he describes it as mouldy, and gives it a look of disgust that Harry is so upset by. 

St Oswald’s (Act One, Scene Thirteen)

I have now seen the new St Oswald’s three times (once on Broadway, twice in London), and I still can’t say that I’m convinced by it. 

At first I hated it. With a passion. It starts off alright, with a biscuit palace appearing onstage, then quickly descends into something quite distasteful. The stage direction in the script for this scene is about magic being done for fun. It’s supposed to be joyful, people who can do magic because they love it rather than having to do it for work or study. It should be colourful and vibrant, as well as chaotic.

What we get is certainly chaotic, but as the employees of St Oswald’s play various tricks on the residents, there’s an uncomfortable feeling to the scene. There’s not a nice spirit there. Previously the scene has been hilarious and delightful. Now it’s just mean, and borders on elder abuse, which just isn’t necessary. The scene could have been remade without going anywhere near that territory, and I do think it’s a serious misstep. Not to mention the fact that some of the tricks are so juvenile and fake (one lady gets stuck inside a sofa, with a pair of legs that are so clearly not her own sticking up in the air). 

On Sunday, my third viewing of it, however, I did start to see sort of what they were going for, and there were a couple of redeeming features. When you sit close to the front it’s difficult to see the choreography going on towards the back of the stage, so sitting further back allowed me to see Ryan’s role in the scene, and I loved what he brought to it. 

His staff member has a very brief role in proceedings, but I think it’s essential. While Gordon was bullying the residents (which he did with incredible viciousness), Ryan was looking utterly horrified. There was an expression on his face that just said ‘this is so far from okay, I’m not doing this’, and that was the point when he exited the scene. 

It was really good to see someone in character acknowledging how bad what was going on was, and showed a self-awareness that I hadn’t realised was there before. There was also the fact that at the end of the scene, when the nasty staff member gets his comeuppance (he ends up holding a teacup that’s spilling over with fire), the residents of St Oswald’s all started dancing and enjoying themselves. Those two things combined really helped me with it, and I think with further viewings I might come around to accepting it. 

It is still frustrating to have to work so hard on it though. I’ve always loved this show for its artistry and joyful magic, and this scene feels like an unnecessary step away from that. What was wrong with the original, very funny, perfectly good spirited version of the scene? 

Around the map (Act One, Scene Seventeen)

The scene where the adults talk around the map, trying to work out where Albus and Scorpius might be, is always a bit of a dark horse of a scene. It doesn’t feel that important, but there’s always so much fascinating character work going on there. And so it was in this show.

I caught Harry and Ginny having a silent conversation, in which Harry told Ginny not to mention what he said to Albus. I’m pretty sure that was because he didn’t want Draco to know, and if he had to tell Hermione he’d rather tell her in person. And yet of course Ginny brings up an opportunity for him to tell everyone. It made it feel almost as if she was betraying him, which did actually work.

There’s a lot of conflict during the show between Harry and Ginny. It’s hidden because their relationship is so strong and they do spend so much time interacting. They obviously love one another. But Ginny does find Harry’s actions difficult to swallow sometimes. She calls him out on them. And that tiny interaction in this scene really laid the groundwork for that.

Ginny’s priority throughout the play is Albus. Harry is a grown man who can look after himself, and while she loves him, she knows that Albus is by far the more vulnerable party here, and she’s going to fight every step of the way to find him and help him. In this scene, getting Harry to admit what he’s done is the best way of achieving that, so she makes it happen. She doesn’t actively tell everyone what Harry’s role in Albus’s disappearance was, but she puts him in a position that enables him to tell the truth.

To know that that came from a silent conversation between the two of them was so fascinating, and it added an extra dimension to the journey they take through the rest of the show. We could not be more lucky. Jamie and Susie are such fantastic actors, and the thought they bring to their characters is game changing.

Opening of Act Two (Act Two, Scene One)

Here were a couple of changes that I loved straight away. Before in the dream sequence, young Harry has been haunted by a single, ghostly hand, and that’s still the case. Except in the new version, by the end there are three hands reaching for him.

This might be a bit random, but I really liked the fact that there were three hands, not four. The odd number threw things off and added to the creepiness of it. There was something even more unnatural about the dream. And actually what I noticed throughout the show is that in the moments that are meant to be unnatural and wrong, tiny bits of choreography have been tweaked to make that vibe feel so tangible. 

The other great thing about this new version of the dream is that Harry finally does look like he’s wet himself. It’s a detail that should have been added years ago, but I’m glad it’s here now. Also, Harry’s clothes are now genuinely too big for him. They look like adult’s clothes, just the way they should. Those little things make all the difference.

The adults visit McGonagall’s Office (Act Two, Scene Three)

There were so many reasons to love Blythe as McGonagall, but one of my favourites came in this scene. As they were leaving the office to go and find the boys, she saw Ron with the napkin tucked into his top, and reached across to take it off him with a tut. It was so brusque and no nonsense, plus it hinted at her familiarity with him and the others. Although she holds power over them (even Hermione) by virtue of being one of the most wise and respected figures in the Wizarding World, this group are also colleagues in a sense — fellow soldiers who have fought through a war together — and the respect goes both ways. Respect and fondness. Almost a familial bond. It was such a sweet little touch. 

Expelliarmus Scene (Act Two, Scene Four)

This is one of the big trick scenes that can go wrong, but I’m pleased to report that it didn’t in either show. There was an air of confidence from both Madeleine and Dom, and the trick worked really smoothly. Being able to pull that one off with such panache must take guts, especially first time out, and they did a great job. In fact they were both very good with the magic throughout.

Another excellent Delphi moment came at the end of this scene (only in the first show — sadly it wasn’t repeated on Sunday). After she kissed Albus on the cheek, Scorpius did his normal flailing routine in front of her, and she was having none of it. She rolled her eyes and, from several metres away, did a fake little ‘mwah mwah’ in the air, roughly directed to either side of his face. It was sarcastic, impatient, and designed to let him know that he needed to get out of her way fast, which he did. It was a great way of handling his ridiculousness.

Bane and the search for the boys (Act Two, Scene Five)

One of the little details I noticed during the opening of this scene, when everyone was searching the forest, was that Harry wasn’t quite alone when he started calling for Albus and Scorpius. On Wednesday I assumed this was just because the ensemble were a little bit slow getting off the stage, but it was the same on Sunday too, and I was really pleased. I liked it as a sign of Harry’s desperation. Even amongst all these other people helping him, he starts shouting for his son. No waiting for a private moment. No embarrassment. Just his guilt and his need to get his son back safely.

First Task (Act Two, Scene Seven)

If anyone was afraid that the First Task might be a little quiet without the Mackley, Josh, and James Phoon show, you needn’t be. There was plenty of chaos going on, enough to make it difficult to watch the main action.

This was the scene that made me fall in love with the trio of Slytherin boys – Ronnie, Gordon, and Duncan. They were simply wonderful, and absolutely adorable. They had a little chant that I couldn’t quite catch (I think it might have been Cedric related), and then there was some excitable chanting of Krum’s name when he was announced. Also, Ronnie kept stamping his feet to emphasise his applause, and it looked like the three of them were having a whale of a time.

On Sunday, when Gordon was in Hufflepuff, Ronnie went on a Josh-style excursion to visit him, which was very sweet. When he got back to Slytherin there was a lot of hat stealing and Krum chanting and just general chaos. 

Hospital Wing (Act Two, Scenes Eight and Nine)

Albus had a little nightmare while Harry was talking to Dumbledore. He didn’t thrash around as much as Theo used to, it was quite contained, but he was definitely bothered by something going on in his head. There’s something nice about an Albus waking up with a shout of his dad’s name. Even after everything, he still subconsciously loves and needs his dad.

Another little detail from this scene was that this Albus actually ate some of the chocolate. It’s always fun to note who does and doesn’t (Joe very much did not).

One of my favourite Dominic moments came in the scene after this one, when Albus tells Scorpius that he can’t speak to him anymore. He was sharp with Scorpius, but it seemed to be driven by his desire to at least try and do what was necessary to make peace with his dad. However, he was certainly not happy about it. After he’d told Scorpius they’d be better off without each other, he turned to his dad to say ‘okay?’ It was spiteful, spat out, as if saying ‘are you happy now?’ As much as he wants his dad’s affection, he hates the things he has to do to try and get it.

Staircase Ballet (Act Two, Scene Twelve)

This was the first scene where I really noticed the difference in height between Jonathan and Dominic. I obviously knew that Jonathan is the tallest Scorpius we’ve ever had and Dominic the shortest Albus, but there’s something about seeing it in person that makes it all so much more real.

The two boys came together at the top of the stairs (the point when they’re standing side by side, and Albus is trying to avoid Scorpius’s eyes) and there they were. Tall and tiny.

The other thing I really loved about this staircase ballet came from something I’ve noticed before. While Scorpius moves through Hogwarts with ease, from staircase to staircase without a thought, Albus hits dead ends and has to wind his way through the school. It’s like the school accepts Scorpius, but is rejecting Albus. And in both these shows, when Albus walked out from the wings to climb the staircase and meet Scorpius in the middle, he was faced with the wrong end of the staircase. Instead of having steps leading up, there was an unattainable ledge high above him. It was just another sign of the school shutting him out. Another barrier. Sometimes he must feel that he can’t possibly get anywhere – even the building is against him, let alone the classes, his magic, and his fellow students.

Library Scene (Act Two, Scene Sixteen)

I don’t remember much from this scene on Wednesday, but Sunday was vivid, so let’s talk about that. In fact, let’s just talk about Dominic. 

In every scene, but in this one particularly, his body language alone carried right to the back of the theatre. While Scorpius was yelling at Albus, most of the time he was on the verge of stepping forward. He wanted to interrupt, to defend himself, to just say something, maybe even apologise. He was constantly on tiptoes, half stepping forward, half rooted to the spot, shoulders hunched, Time-Turner cradled in his hand. 

Then Scorpius started talking about his mum, and that was when Albus finally stopped trying to interject. He stepped back, bowing his head. He seemed to shrink, and all the fight went out of him until there was just despair. 

When I first saw Dom’s Albus I thought he might be selfish, but on Sunday I realised just how self-aware he is. Especially in the library scene he was so conscious of everything he’d done and said, and what Scorpius was directing at him. It was heartbreaking to see him crumble like that. And when he got onto his apology there was such softness to it, but also power, this drive to let Scorpius know the truth. It was such a beautiful apology, and I’m so pleased that by Sunday Dom had already found Albus’s softer side, because (probably down to nerves) that was the one thing I was lacking on Wednesday and Thursday. 

The other big thing to talk about in this scene has to be the hug. I don’t even know if it can be described as a hug, because there wasn’t much of the boys holding onto each other. While Dom did attempt to do some hugging, Jonathan just draped himself over Dom’s shoulders. He was hanging off him, arms dangling down his back. Only very briefly did Scorpius actually pat Albus’s back, before they parted. It was one of the most awkward disasters of a hug I’ve ever seen. I loved it.

Act Two ending

A couple of little things to finish off Part One:

McGonagall absolutely embraced ‘I solemnly swear that I am up to no good’. She did the most epic wand swish, and was really going for it. Rebellious McGonagall might be my absolute favourite thing to come from the show.

When the boys are under the lake, they now have wild static hair. I noticed it first because I spotted how wild Dom’s hair was. Then I noticed that Scorpius’s wig was sticking up. It took me a second to twig that it was because they were meant to be underwater. At first I thought it was a nice touch, but then I realised that, because the hair doesn’t move like they’re underwater, it kind of just looks like they’ve been attacked with balloons backstage. Also, I feel really sorry for Dom who has to brush that mess out before he can go and have lunch. A little puff of wind or something to make the hair move might make the whole thing more effective. It’s difficult to tell. But for now I guess I’ll just be entertained by how wild they look.

Umbridge did a very creepy skip as she went off after telling Scorpius about Voldemort Day. It was chillingly perfect; just the right amount of gross girlishness.

The Dementor on stage left is wild. Both on Wednesday and Sunday it kept pogoing up and down like mad. I kind of love it. It’s very excitable. 

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