About 18 months after it was first announced, the stage play set in the Harry Potter universe finally has a title and an ETA.
As with all of her major recent news, J.K. Rowling took to Twitter and Facebook earlier today to announce that the play is titled Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. It will be coming to London’s West End next year.
I’m also very excited to confirm today that a new play called Harry Potter and the #CursedChild will be opening in London next year.
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) June 26, 2015
The play, which Rowling supervised, was written by playwright Jack Thorne. The stage production will be directed by John Tiffany and will feature music by Imogen Heap.
It will premiere at the Palace Theatre, which previously saw the birth and two-decade run of Les Miserables, next summer. Fans can purchase tickets beginning this fall, but given that the theater only seats 1,400 people, you’ll probably have a long, long waiting period.
Although the play will feature glimpses into Harry’s childhood, Rowling insists it is not a prequel. This seems to contradict recent unconfirmed reports that the storyline would focus on Harry’s parents, James and Lily Potter, and their too-brief life together.
However, I can say that it is not a prequel! #CursedChild
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) June 26, 2015
It will tell a new story, which is the result of a collaboration between writer Jack Thorne, director John Tiffany and myself. #CursedChild
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) June 26, 2015
I’ve had countless offers to extend Harry’s story over the years, but Jack, John and Sonia Friedman are a dream team! #CursedChild
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) June 26, 2015
It has been a huge pleasure to share with them (and soon, with you!) this untold part of Harry’s story. #CursedChild
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) June 26, 2015
Rowling was tight-lipped about details, apart from confirming that the play would not be a prequel and that she was happy that the theater would serve as the medium for this particular narrative part of Harry’s journey:
To answer one inevitable (and reasonable!) question – why isn’t #CursedChild a new novel? – I am confident that when audiences see the play
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) June 26, 2015
they will agree that it was the only proper medium for the story. #CursedChild
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) June 26, 2015
Although fans have known about the play since December 2013, the reaction from the Internet over today’s news seemed to imply that many of them had missed the earlier memo. Any addition to the world of Harry Potter is a big deal, and a new story featuring Harry himself is something of a miracle. It’s hard to believe that 19 years into its existence, the world of Harry Potter will be getting two entirely new installments in the form of the Cursed Child and the Fantastic Beasts film trilogy.
But it’s not hard at all to believe that fans are as excited now as they were two decades ago, when Harry first came into our lives.
I’m crying on a bus about Harry Potter #CursedChild
— Corinne (@Coz_Cat) June 26, 2015
Exactly.
Photo via thenerdpatrol/Flickr (CC by 2.0)
