Thanks to the wizardry of publishing, the script for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child – the first of a pair of West End stage plays that begin in July 2016 – will be available as an e-book and print version.
The Special Rehearsal Edition (hardback, $45) will be published at 10am on July 31, 2016 (AEST), following the play’s London opening on July 30, bringing the eighth Harry Potter story to a wider, global audience.
The script eBook will be published simultaneously with the print editions by Pottermore, in collaboration with Little, Brown Book Group in the UK, and Scholastic in the US and Canada.
The Special Rehearsal Edition will comprise the version of the play script early in the production’s preview period, several weeks prior to the opening performances.
The preview process allows the creative team to rehearse changes and/or to explore specific scenes further, in front of a live audience, before the official opening performances on July 30.
As such the script is subject to change after the Special Rehearsal Edition is published, which is why this edition will only be available for a limited time, to be replaced by the Definitive Collector’s Edition at a later date.
More details about the Definitive Collector’s Edition will be announced in due course, say publishers.
In case you haven’t heard, here’s the new storyline that has the Potterverse in a fluster, 19 years after the magic began.
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.
Based on an original story by J.K. Rowling , Jack Thorne and John Tiffany, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is the first official Harry Potter story to be presented on stage.
After an exhaustive cast search, J.K. Rowling is reportedly thrilled with the choice of actors, below, to play the adult versions of the beloved Golden Trio – Harry, Hermoine and Ron.
Theatre veteran Jamie Parker steps into Harry’s shoes, while Noma Dumezweni, a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, takes on the role of Hermione. Film and television actor Paul Thornley will round out the main cast to play Ron.
“I’m so excited with the choice of casting for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” says J.K. “I can’t wait to see Jamie, Noma and Paul bring the adult Harry, Hermoine and Ron to life on stage next summer.”
There are currently no plans to bring the play to other parts of the world.
