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karl-jenkins · 6 years ago

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HPCC London Cast 4 First Impressions

I saw London cast 4 for the first time on Sunday (26th May 2019) and wanted to put down some thoughts I had while watching. These are just my interpretations and what I took from their performance. Overall, I had such a great time watching them, I have very high hopes for this cast and I can’t wait to see them again and see what else I learn about their interpretations of their characters. While five of the main seven were the same, most of the ensemble had changed which gave the show an entire new feel and along with the changes made, it felt like watching the show for the first time all over again. I only really noted things that had changed and about the new cast members so there’s not much about the remaining cast members even though there were some little tweaks.

Dominic Short as Albus Potter

Dominic’s Albus came across very anxious and insecure, very unsure of himself. He was absolutely exasperated with James. When he got onto the train he very much relied on Rose to lead the way, he had no idea how to approach this new situation and was perfectly happy to follow her lead. The moment that he decided to stay in Scorpius’ carriage was the first time that he was sure of himself, confident in his decision.

He is expressive and excitable when he’s around Scorpius. He uses a lot of hand gestures. He thrives when he’s got a plan. He gets so excited! On the train, he has such a thirst to prove himself and it gave me big Slytherin vibes. After the argument in the library, when detailing his lake task idea, after he said “sparkly surprise” he acted out exploding fireworks. In Godric’s Hollow, you see the pieces fall into place as he watches Lily leave and he is so excited when Scorpius finally understands him. In the Slytherin dormitory, he is so interested to hear everything that happened with Rose. It was just a really nice friendship, that felt very much like two real teenage boys.

He is mostly just anxious and uncomfortable around Harry, not really knowing how to speak to him. It is the scene before the third year Hogwarts when his anger first comes out. When he says he knows he’ll hate Hogsmeade because it will be full of Hogwarts students, he delivers this angrily, glaring at the permission form and crumpling it in his fist as if it’s one of the students he hates so much. The anger reappears in the blanket scene. It starts off with him sat uncomfortably, leaning away from Harry. Not outright aggressive yet but wanting to be pretty much anywhere else. Even before he holds the blanket, he is done with the conversation. During the argument, once his anger comes out, he picks up the blanket and Jamie reaches out wanting to take it back, clearly afraid that he’s going to do something to it in anger.

His friendship with Scorpius is really lovely and has the potential to become more. The hugs that he initiates are very tight squeezes, Albus really just needs his friend in those moments. In their final staircase scene, when Scorpius hugs him, the “What’s this?” is really pleasantly surprised. When Scorpius said about the new version of them he had in his head, they stand, eyes locked and go to hug again but it becomes awkward so Albus blurts out about asking Rose and the moment passes.

Staircase ballet was also extremely heartbreaking. Dom does this thing when Albus is preparing to respond – he sort of fidgets on the spot as if he wants to step forward and opens his mouth as if to say something – and he did a version of this on the stairs too. When they met at the top of the staircase, he was so anxious and unsure about what to do, he just completely froze. When they were on the separate staircases facing each other at the end, Albus was staring into Scorpius’ eyes so sadly. As the stairs stared to roll off, he stepped down onto the next stair and looked like he wanted to say something. There was such desperation and sadness in him in that moment.

He has a lot of feelings that he doesn’t quite know what to do with. He’s so insecure and used to teasing that when he is complimented, he doesn’t know how to react. He ends up panicking and making jokes as his defence mechanism. Examples of this were:

- When Scorpius says he’d choose him as a companion for the return of eternal darkness, Albus just does not know how to react to that properly. He panics and blurts out the “no offence” line because he can’t bring himself to think about it more deeply and believe it to be true.

- When Harry tells him he’s becoming quite some wizard, it’s kind of a huge moment. This is a genuine compliment from his dad, something he’s wanted for a long time and he just doesn’t know how to react now it’s finally happened so turns to joking about pigeon racing.

There was a lot of other things I took from his graveyard scene. When Harry says his childhood was a constant struggle and Albus replies “so was mine”, it’s a joke. The first time he is jokey around Harry. Humour had been so natural with Scorpius but never with Harry until that moment. He’s still not as open or as comfortable as he is with his mum or Scorpius but he’s much more receptive. He’s actually really happy at the possibility that Harry thinks that he’s like him, that maybe he does live up to his expectations after all.

The way he talks about his Slytherin side is a nice moment, he’s finally opening up to Harry about something, letting himself be vulnerable around him. You can tell by the way he said it that ever since he was sorted into Slytherin, he has been fixated on the idea that the Sorting Hat must have seen something ‘bad’ in him. He’s spent all this time examining himself, putting himself down, looking for the things about him that’s bad enough to warrant him being in Slytherin and convinced that Harry is disappointed that he is.

The embrace at the end was very sweet, for me it embodied the stage direction of the two of them ‘melting together’.

I was a big fan of Joe’s emotionally closed off Albus, he reminded me of a younger me. Dom’s Albus reminded me of me now. I am loving seeing these interpretations of Albus that are teaching me about myself as I learn about them. I really enjoyed getting to meet Dom’s Albus and took so much from his performance even after seeing it only once. I’m so excited to see him again and see what else he can teach me over the coming year.

Jonathan Case as Scorpius Malfoy

He changed up the Slytherin dormitory scene. He would previously lie at the end of Albus’ bed and pop up shouting his name. This time he crouched right near Albus’ head the whole time and shouted there. I really liked that change. He was very excitable about being back with Albus, he even did a little dance to celebrate being Scorpius the Dreadless.

Michelle Gayle as Hermione Granger

I really liked her with Tom – Ron and Hermione didn’t even need to speak a lot of the time, they communicated through expressions and gestures. The marriage renewal scene was lovely. She went all giggly and girlish while usually she was very calm and collected.

Her polyjuiced Delphi was spot on – she mimicked Madeleine’s body language and gestures perfectly. While she was watching Albus and Scorpius transform, she had the biggest excited grin on her face. Inside Hermione’s office, she sat down at the desk, every bit Madeleine’s sweet, goofy Delphi pretending to be the minister. Even her walk changed – she swaggered around and looked like Delphi was having the time of her life.

I really enjoyed her Act 2 AU Hermione – the DADA teacher. It was almost like she was one of the kids, bullying Albus along with them. Whenever she joked at his expense, the rest of the class were laughing and exchanging gleeful looks. It was just another way to make Albus feel truly alone in this world. He can’t speak to Harry, he’s being kept away from Scorpius and his Uncle and Aunt that he might otherwise have gone to are unrecognisable.

She stays angry for most of the class, her voice doesn’t crack. It’s only when she jinxes them all out of their seats that she suddenly looks so much younger, vulnerable and sad. She walks off just shaking her head. During the staircase scene, when Ron says he doesn’t mean ‘mine, as in…’ she snaps “I know” quite harshly, cutting him off to stop him from hurting her any further.

In the dark AU, Granger is very slow to trust. It takes a long time for her to lower her wand from Scorpius. It was her that indicated to Ron that his wand was the wrong way, rather than Scorpius. When she finds out she’s Minister for Magic in another world she is surprised but when Ron indignantly says, “She’s Minister for Magic?!” she shrugs as if to say “yes, of course I am”.

One of the things I really enjoyed about her Hermione was that she is absolutely in her element when she’s forming a plan. This is applies to the time turning plan in the dark AU and the plan to use St. Jerome’s in Godric’s Hollow. When she’s planning, she gets a spring in her step and smiles a lot more, you can tell that she loves having a strategy, something to work on and get her teeth into.

Rayxia Ojo as Rose Granger-Weasley

Rayxia’s Rose is a boss. 11 years old and already so sure of who she is, a natural leader. She has a bossy, confident walk and is fondly exasperated by Ron, quite similarly to how Hermione reacts to him. There was slight aggression in her tone when she said “That’s putting it mildly. Your mum and dad are Death Eaters”, I definitely got the impression that she’s heard a lot about Draco Malfoy from her family. Rose is so done when Albus doesn’t know the rumour about Scorpius being the child of Voldemort, has he been living under a rock? She blurted out the Voldemort rumour then had a moment of realisation that that was probably insensitive and span round to try to explain herself. During the next Hogwarts Express scene, she is so excited about the time turner. Proper nerdish excitement, you can definitely tell she’s Hermione’s daughter. She actually seemed quite hurt when Scorpius asked her what did she smell of. After she leaves and goes to sit with James, you see they have a much more natural relationship. They hit each other playfully and tease each other and it’s nice to see. When they are eavesdropping on the staircase when Albus and Scorpius are in McGonagall’s office, she looked so excited to hear the gossip, she thinks the whole thing is quite funny. Until she hears her name, realises they’re talking about a timeline in which she didn’t exist. After that she seems very conflicted and confused. It must be such a shocking thing to hear. I was glad that James and Karl were there to be supportive! James put his hand on her shoulder and Karl turned to put his on her knee. Her Scorpion King line was flirty but then she immediately broke into laughter because she couldn’t even pretend to keep up that act.

Emma-May Uden as Polly Chapman

I loved her. She was the ultimate mean girl; her resting bitch face was on point. Her delivery was so sassy. I especially loved her dark AU scene. She was girlish and flirty while talking about torture and killing. In general, she gave me proper Queen Bee vibes; Polly, Yann, Karl and Craig really did seem like a real group of friends with Polly as their natural leader, but she also spent a lot of time pursuing Yann. Just before the Scorbus staircase scene, Yann and Polly cross the stage and Emma-May and Luke did this hand in hand, Yann had clearly stopped playing hard to get at this point. Also, while I sort of missed the blonde bob, her new wig is gorgeous. Emma-May is every bit the notorious beauty.

Ronnie Lee as Craig Bowker Jr

In the Act 3 dormitory scene, his Craig was confident and in charge. He knew the rules and he was going to enforce them. This boy knows what he’s about. When Professor McGonagall says “Craig, we’ve work to do” he tightened his dressing gown belt with such resolve, ready for action. His death was quite dramatic, he flinched with the force of the spell hitting him which made me flinch too! Then again, being in the restricted view seats, I am quite used to not being able to see his death.

Kathryn Meisle

She did a lot with Petunia that I absolutely loved. In the lighthouse dream, when Hagrid mentioned Hogwarts, she moaned. As the scene continued, she was poised to cover Dudley’s ears. She was so conflicted about Dudley hearing about Hogwarts, it clearly brought back a lot of memories for her. Her Petunia was very emotional whenever she remembered Lily, something I really appreciated when I saw Kate Russell-Smith as Petunia, but it felt like Kathryn took it even further. During the under the stairs dream sequence, when she said that Lily didn’t even have time to scream, her voice cracked. During the Godric’s Hollow graveyard scene, she first looked at the grave when Harry asked why there were so many flowers. She let out a little shocked “oh” and sounded so heartbroken to be seeing her sister’s grave, covered in flowers from so many people. At the end of the day, Lily was her sister and I felt she showed so much sadness and regret and that is something that I love to see in a Petunia.

I also really enjoyed her Umbridge – whenever I reread Order of the Phoenix I end up doing impressions of her saying “hem hem” to draw attention and she did that perfectly! She definitely looked the part of Umbridge. She was brilliant at that false sweetness while really, she is dripping with threat and danger at every moment. When she said Scorpius had been checked for hexes and curses, she looked Scorpius up and down very deliberately. It was very tense, like you were on edge waiting to see what she was going to do. After the dementors take Ron and Hermione and Umbridge finds Snape and Scorpius in the grounds her “hem hem” was so sudden that she actually made me jump.

I reach Scorpius levels of geekiness when Bathilda appears, so I was very excited to see Kathryn do this, even though it’s just one tiny moment. Kathryn as Bathilda was unreasonably cute. She did a sort of whoop of excitement and trotted off stage and it was extremely sweet.

Blythe Duff

Really liked her Trolley Witch, she did a cute little waddle through the train. On top of the train, I loved the way she made use of the spikes. She did a lot of hand gestures and advanced closer to Scorpius and Albus than I’ve seen any Trolley Witch do before. After they jumped from the train, her screams of anger were so extra. She screamed “No! Nooo! Noooooo!” and kept one hand free and grabbing the air the entire time the train was rolling off stage.

I’ve been trying really hard to work out how to explain how I felt about Blythe’s McGonagall. To me, she just encapsulated the spirit of McGonagall. She was sensitive and kind but stern and full of authority. It really did feel like Professor McGonagall had stepped off the pages of the books and straight onto the stage. Her sadness when Harry threw it back in her face about not having children made me want to fight Harry. In the library scene, she is very pleased to have found that little loophole about not being able to see them. This way she doesn’t have to separate two friends, but Harry also can’t blame her, such a result. One cute little moment was that when Ron enters from the kitchens with his napkin, he doesn’t pull it off. As the scene ends, McGonagall is the one to rip it off in exasperation.

Lucy Mangan as Moaning Myrtle

April had left big shoes to fill and Lucy was completely different. She only had to say her first line and I was saying “I love her!” Her Myrtle was very flirty and excited to have boys in her bathroom. She gets quite aggressive when Scorpius called her Moaning Myrtle, she is clearly very fed up of that nickname. She was dramatic to a level that I can only aspire to. Her look at Albus on the “and boys” was very pointed. When she was talking about the weeping after Cedric was taken, she did two separate wails while the taps ran. Then Albus tried to continue speaking and she held out her hand to stop him before doing a third wail.

The way she placed her leg in front of Scorpius was very funny, she got right up in his face. When she went back down into the pipe she giggled and did an excited little wiggle. She was really enjoying getting so many visitors that day. She said “Hello Harry” in a flirtatious, husky voice. Each time she tries to flirt with Harry and fails, she would sigh in annoyance.

From the restricted view seat that I was in, I couldn’t really see her during Lily’s appearances so will have to keep an eye out for those bits next time I see the show.

Madeleine Walker as Delphi

Madeleine’s Delphi is sweet and awkward. She popped round the stairs saying “helloooo!” and she wins you over straight away. She is so enthusiastic and excitable about everything. When she leaves Albus to go back to Amos, she curtseys to Albus. During the blanket argument when Albus says “Shall I bow now, or will a curtsey do?” I couldn’t help but wonder if she’d inspired that.

She’s super sweet and endearing and makes awkward noises that reminded me of Jon’s Scorpius. I’ve said before that if I were to play Delphi, I would try to take on some of the characteristics of Scorpius to win Albus’ trust. I felt like this might have been something that Madeleine was trying to portray too as many of her little gestures and excited or awkward noises really did remind me of Scorpius. I need to remember to ask her at stage door if I see her again whether this was what she was going for – just someone that Albus would trust in general or whether she was mimicking Scorpius specifically. I will also be interested if she changes it up when there’s a cover Scorpius on.

During the expelliarmus scene, she is so goofy and enthusiastic. She only has eyes for Albus, she doesn’t even look at Scorpius, even when she throws his robes at him. Her reaction being told she couldn’t come it incredulous, the way she says “What?” is quite sad. She insists “he’s MY cousin” pleading not to be left out.

When she finds Scorpius on the staircase she is so excited by Hogwarts, she has such an enthusiasm about everything which is infectious.

When she arrives in the owlery, she still seems so sweet, she’s so understanding about destroying the time turner. When Scorpius tries to interrupt her monologue about Euphemia’s augurey, she thrusts out a hand to shut him up and let her continue, once more her eyes on Albus alone. Scorpius is nothing to her but a tool to manipulate Albus. When Scorpius continues to question her motives, she turns towards Albus and acts like Scorpius is mad, indicating to him as if to say, “what’s with him?”

On the Quidditch Pitch, she’s quite physical, but only really with Scorpius. He’s expendable but she needs Albus. She’s great at the manic laughter, she sounds like a fanatic. She got right up close to Scorpius and even kissed him which honestly was such an intense moment, you kind of felt violated along with him. She was really enjoying herself as she ran at Scorpius, liking to watch him so scared of her and how worried that makes Albus; it makes him all the more likely to do her bidding.

In St. Jerome’s she sounds like she doesn’t want to admit that Voldemort is going to lose the Battle of Hogwarts, she hesitates before finishing the sentence. Is this through slight fear of his reaction or because it pains her to admit her father doesn’t always win? She has great facial expressions throughout the battle – we were only 8 rows back but could clearly see the whites of her eyes and she looked quite unhinged. They’ve added an echoey effect for her voice and she now moves around the stage more. This means that she has to be hooked back up before she flies back up which does draw more attention to her wires, though this might become smoother as they get more used to it.

When Harry can’t kill her, she laughs, finding it funny that he can’t even do that. But she is genuinely desperate when she begs him to take her memory. She would genuinely rather lose her mind that have to live without her father. As she is levitated upwards for Voldemort’s arrival she keeps mouthing “father” and looks as if she is fighting to free herself. She is extremely compelling, and I really enjoyed watching her. I can’t wait to see what else she does with Delphi over the coming year.

I also noted a few of the changes and new dynamics that a new cast has brought. One change is wand dance, though it hasn’t changed as much as I expected. The choreography started the same but sort of broke off and there was more focus on crowding around or teasing Albus. At the end, they all step forward to the front of the stage and cast their spells simultaneously. I really liked the changes and felt that they really highlighted Albus’ feelings of inadequacy and isolation from his peers but kept a lot of the fun choreography. Dom’s robes were flying all over the place.

St Oswald’s was definitely the biggest change. It will for sure take me another few watches to work out exactly what was going on! Didn’t quite know where to look because everything about it had changed. I think it may have changed to be the same as Broadway, but I don’t know for sure as I’ve never seen that production. It involves a biscuit palace, a teacup on fire and Karl on work experience.

Other little changes included: Lily’s line changing to comment on the Granger-Weasley’s always being late, switches between the Yann and Karl tracks (which I think may be to match Broadway?), after the green smoke explodes from the potion, the class all lean forwards and cover their heads with their robes instead of leaning backwards in slow motion, during the under stairs dream sequence, all three of the Voldemort hands reappear at once at the end and young Harry has new trousers which look like he’s wet himself. This seemed slightly unnecessary to me, as did the new ‘wet-look’ wigs for the lake which just made it look like Scorpius’ wig in particular had gone a bit wrong.

One of my favourite scenes to watch is always the first task scene because it’s a chance to watch the entire ensemble interacting with each other and it’s always full of fun little touches and dynamics. This is a scene that can differ a lot each time, so it’s definitely a fun scene for the regulars. In cast 3, it was the Slytherin boy swing track that would fight his way through the crowd to reach Craig Bowker Sr but this year, they’ve switched. So, it was Ronnie crawling his way through the crowd. He burst out triumphantly between the Hufflepuffs first and they shoved him back into the crowd and he finally found his way over to the Slytherin boy. They fist bumped and then through the whole scene were basically all over each other which was funny to watch. Lola in the Hufflepuff girl swing track started tearing up and fanning her face when Cedric was announced, and I loved that because honestly, same. I’m a big Cedric fan. It’s now the Ravenclaw girl in Myrtle’s track that swoons, rather than a teacher. All in all, this scene was very fun already but has potential to be even more fun as this cast get more used to it and find new little things to try out.

I left the show with a huge smile on my face and very much looking forward to the year ahead. I am sorry that this isn’t formulated in the most logical way, I did want to go through in chronological order but when I was putting it together, it made more sense to me to do it by character and group scenes that gave me the same thoughts and feelings relating to each actor’s interpretations. Sorry if it doesn’t make sense. If anyone wants clarification on any specific points, please do let me know!

And of course, this is all only based on one show, in their very first week. I’m sure there’s a lot more that I haven’t noticed yet and I’m really looking forward to seeing them more, so I can find new things about their interpretations and watch them grow over the next year. This is my first cast change with this show and I’m feeling very optimistic and excited for a new year which is a great feeling. Honestly, I’m just so happy that I still feel as in love with this show as ever and I can’t wait to keep seeing it for as long as it still makes me feel like that!

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torestoreamends · 6 years ago

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Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Recap: Cast Four – 22/23 & 26 May (Part One)

On Wednesday and Thursday I saw Cast Four for the first time. I came out of those performances unsure how I felt about the cast and the changes to the show. There was a lot that I didn’t like, and I didn’t feel excited about the year ahead at all. Looking back now, I was exhausted when I was watching those shows. I didn’t take much in, and when I was trying to write my recap I knew I was missing a lot. I felt neither passionate about nor proud of what I was writing.

So on Sunday I got another ticket and tried again. I ended up sitting further back than I have in a year and a half, but also in the second most central seat I’ve had in a year. And it helped.

I’ve always found that sitting close to the stage you focus on the action close to the front a lot more. It’s difficult to get the depth of what’s going on. When you sit slightly further back it’s far easier to take in the choreography, and what I was unhappy with on Wednesday and Thursday was largely the choreographic changes.

My Sunday seat gave me a view like I was looking at a model box of the show — it was the sort of view the show was designed to be seen from. All the shapes came out, the lighting, the details of the movement, plus it was an absolute gift of a show. I fell in love with portrayals and changes I hadn’t been certain of, and fell even more deeply in love with the things I’d already enjoyed.

So, without further ado, here are some thoughts about the new portrayals we’ve got (including our first cover of the year — the wonderful Gordon Millar as Karl etc.), followed by a recap of Sunday’s show, combined with thoughts from Wednesday and Thursday.

Because this got exceptionally long (my second longest recap ever), I’ve split it in half. Part One is below, and Part Two can be found here.

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.

So that’s Part One. Click here for Part Two and a little bit of summing up >

#Harry Potter and the Cursed Child #Cursed Child #hpplayldn #Cast Four #Dominic Short #Jonathan Case #Jamie Ballard #Susie Trayling #Madeleine Walker #My writing #Notes from the show #Keep The Secrets #I really love this cast #they're great #also sorry this took so long #in my defence it's my second longest recap ever...

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