The Cursed Childnot only gives us a peak back into the lives of the characters we know and love from the original canon, but allows itself to expand and shift in new, interesting, and daring ways. The tricky balance between embracing canon and changing it. Sure, there were plot elements that moved quicker than I would have liked, but that is the nature of the medium/genre and the story never forgot the characters behind the twist-happy narrative. So what did I, one subjective, yet hopefully discerning fan-critic think of the stage addition to the beloved story-verse? Frankly, it was everything I hadn’t even dared hoped it would be and more. These books are inextricably entwined with my childhood and personhood - and I am far from the only millennial running around who feels this way. When the final book was released in 2007, for example, Harry was 17 and I was 19. I was in fifth grade when I read the first book, and aged at a similar pace to Harry. It was one they grew up with that helped them understand the world and themselves. For many young adults, Harry Potter wasn’t just a story they liked as a kid. This is all a long, roundabout way of my saying: yes, pressures on and concerns about The Cursed Child play remain high. And Rowling has been building her wizarding world out through Pottermore in anticipation. The Cursed Child represents the first new addition to canon Harry Potter in a long time - and it’s not the only one. In November, we will get another Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them story officially set in the Harry Potter world. Some of this reaction is no doubt part of a larger anxiety surrounding a general change for the Harry Potter canon, which, save for the occasional Pottermore update, has been left alone since the seventh book was published. Out of context, the rough plot of the Harry Potter sequel set 19 years following the events of the books (save for the epilogue) sounds as complicated as trying to make a Draught of Peace with Professor Snape looking over your shoulder.
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If you’ve spent any time on the internet in the time since Harry Potter and the Cursed Child was released in scriptbook form back in 2016, shortly following its West End debut, then you know that Harry Potter fandom response to the plot details has been met with some concern. This Harry Potter and the Cursed Child review is based on the West End performance featuring the same main cast.