THE OFFICIAL SCRIPT BOOK OF THE ORIGINAL WEST END PRODUCTION
The Eighth Story. Nineteen Years Later.
Based on an original new story by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany,
a new play by Jack Thorne, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is the eighth story
in the Harry Potter series and the first official Harry Potter story to be
presented on stage. The play will receive its world premiere in London’s West
End on July 30, 2016.
It was always difficult being Harry Potter and it isn’t much easier now
that he is an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband and father
of three school-age children.
While Harry grapples with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs, his
youngest son Albus must struggle with the weight of a family legacy he never
wanted. As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn the
uncomfortable truth: sometimes, darkness comes from unexpected places.
Authors:
J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany, Jack Thorne
J .K. ROWLING
J.K. Rowling is the author of the seven Harry Potter novels, which have sold
over 450 million copies and have been translated into 79 languages, and three
companion books originally published for charity. She is also the author of The
Casual Vacancy, a novel for adults published in 2012, and, under the pseudonym
of Robert Galbraith, is the author of the Cormoran Strike crime series. J.K.
Rowling is making her screenwriting debut and is a producer on the film
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, a further extension of the Wizarding
World, due for release in November 2016.
JOHN TIFFANY
John Tiffany directed Once, for which he was the recipient of multiple awards
both in the West End and on Broadway. As Associate Director of the Royal Court,
his work includes The Twits, Hope and The Pass. He was the director of Let the
Right One In for the National Theatre of Scotland, which transferred to the
Royal Court, West End and St Ann's Warehouse. His other work for the National
Theatre of Scotland includes Macbeth (also Broadway), Enquirer, The Missing,
Peter Pan, The House of Bernarda Alba, Transform Caithness: Hunter, Be Near Me,
Nobody Will Ever Forgive Us, The Bacchae, Black Watch, for which he won the
Olivier and Critics' Circle Best Director Awards, Elizabeth Gordon Quinn and
Home: Glasgow. Other recent credits include The Glass Menagerie at ART and on
Broadway and The Ambassador at BAM. Tiffany was Associate Director of the
National Theatre of Scotland from 2005 to 2012, and was a Radcliffe Fellow at
Harvard University in the 2010–2011 academic year.
JACK THORNE
Jack Thorne writes for theatre, film, television and radio. His theatre
credits include Hope and Let the Right One In, both directed by John Tiffany,
The Solid Life of Sugar Water for the Graeae Theatre Company and the National
Theatre, Bunny for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Stacy for the Trafalgar
Studios, and 2nd May 1997 and When You Cure Me for the Bush. His adaptations
include The Physicists for the Donmar Warehouse and Stuart: A Life Backwards
for HighTide. On film his credits include War Book, A Long Way Down and The
Scouting Book for Boys. For television his credits include The Last Panthers,
Don't Take My Baby, This Is England, The Fades, Glue, Cast-Offs and National
Treasure. He won BAFTAs in 2016 for Best Mini-Series (This Is England '90) and
Best Single Drama (Don't Take My Baby), and in 2012 for Best Drama Series (The
Fades) and Best Mini-Series.
Reviews:
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child – Parts One & Two (Special Rehearsal
Edition) has received sensational reviews both in New Zealand and
internationally. The New York Times lauded it as a “compelling, stay-
up-all-night read” and the UK’s The Telegraph pronounced,
“It’s difficult to overstate how exciting it is to read a new story set in
this widely loved fantasy universe. The thrill of a new Harry Potter book, even
in script form, is its own kind of magic spell.”
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Parts One and Two, a play by Jack Thorne
based on an original story by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany, opened
at The Palace Theatre in London’s West End on July 30th to critical acclaim.
The following day the Special Rehearsal Edition of the script was published
containing the complete script, including stage directions, used by the original
West End production during the play’s preview period.