As many of us Potterheads who grew up being transported to Hogwarts every year, I was apprehensive to head back into the magical world of Harry Potter. Could a play possibly do it justice? Would it ruin something that had become so special to my childhood?
Hopefully, this review will put your mind at ease! To me, this book built upon the world of Harry Potter without disrupting anything that had previously been done. We get to see some characters we have grown to love in previous novels, we recount previous events that happened and the motives behind them, all while alongside Harry’s son, Albus. This play picks up where the epilogue of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows leaves off, at King’s Cross Station with Harry, Ginny and the usual suspects dropping off their children for the Hogwarts Express. I find the continuation of what Harry’s life looks like almost two decades later to be incredibly intriguing. Albus is plagued with trying to live up to everyone’s expectations of him as the son of the Boy Who Lived, or the savior of the world they know. Harry is perplexed about raising a son who seems strikingly different from him as a boy. In the play, we will see if they are able to bridge the gap as father and son.
“Harry, there is never a perfect answer in this messy, emotional world. Perfection is beyond the reach of humankind, beyond the reach of magic. In every shining moment of happiness is that drop of poison: the knowledge that pain will come again. Be honest to those you love, show your pain. To suffer is as human as to breathe.”
In my opinion, this continuation of the series in play format is the perfect option for leaving things where they ended with The Deathly Hallows while still giving us what many of us crave—More! My only wish is that I had some Floo Powder to transport myself to a viewing of this play! Wizards and Muggles alike could surely appreciate the adventure within!
Ashes Books & Bobs 