Harry Potter and the Cursed Script?
Nine years and 10 days after publishing "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" J.K. Rowling has "blessed" Potterheads with the eighth story in the "Harry Potter" series. "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" officially opened as a play in the Palace Theatre on July 30, 2016. The very next day, it was released as a script. Both the script and the play have received very conflicting reviews from Potterheads and critics. Here* is what they have to say:
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*Disclaimer: I am 100 percent guilty of being a total Potterhead and of reading the entire first act in one sitting. I've not seen the play in London, but have read several reviews.
"Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" sold over two million copies within the first 48 hours of its release. While this is far less than the 8.3 million copies of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" that were sold on its first day, this does make it the fastest-selling book of this decade in the United Kingdom.
Despite its success, "Harry Potter" fans have been largely disappointed with the newest addition to the Potterverse. Many fans were shocked to discover that the "book" they purchased was actually a script, making it a much different read from the other seven books in the "Harry Potter" series.
The book cover is also extremely misleading, with J.K. Rowling's name in large print and John Tiffany and Jack Thorne's names much smaller beneath it. Though I doubt J.K. Rowling purposely tricked us, it does make it seem as though she wrote the largest portion of the book. This is not the case. Self-proclaimed Potterhead, Jack Thorne, actually wrote the majority of the play with the help of J.K. Rowling. While the script does add to the Potterverse in a very satisfying way, readers will be able to tell that J.K. Rowling did not write this. It simply doesn't read the same as the other "Harry Potter" books.
The last major issue that Potter fans are having is the inconsistencies in the script. Without giving away too many spoilers, I'll just say that a few attempts to connect the script to the books actually left fans with more questions than answers. The script tries so hard to connect to the "Harry Potter" series that it leaves out important details. As one critic for The Atlantic put it, "Cursed Child...is an act of overreach that feels mandated not by Rowling's desire to fill out details but by an entertainment industry intent on reviving and rebooting anything that's ever made money." This is in reference to J.K. Rowling's website, Pottermore, where she often reveals details of the Harry Potter Universe, keeping the magic alive.
Contrary to all of the bad reviews that the script has received, fans are amazed by the stage production of "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child." Some critics believe the reason behind the conflicting reviews is that the script leaves too much to the imagination, while the play shows the reader what J.K. Rowling had envisioned. Fans also say that what makes the difference is truly the experience of attending the play. Potterheads show up and stand in line for hours to watch this new addition to the magical world of "Harry Potter." And they don't just show up like normal people, they show up in full costume.
In the end, it doesn't really matter what the critics have to say about the script or the play. What matters is that J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany and Jack Thorne have managed to bring "Harry Potter" and his world of wizardry to life once more. While it has not been confirmed by J.K. Rowling herself, there have been rumors of more stories from Hogwarts like "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child," and I, for one, am interested to see where this goes.
