Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Reviews Are In! What Critics Think About J.K. Rowling's Buzzworthy Play

6 Things to Know About Harry Potter and the Cursed Child – And How it Fits Into the Potter Universe

Fans loved the new Harry Potter and the Cursed Child play (as to be expected), but what do the critics think?

The reviews are here, and critics say the highly anticipated production is nothing short of magical.

Preview audiences have been pressed to "keep the secrets," but now word is out on how extraordinary the two-act play, set 19 years after the final book in the Harry Potter saga by J.K. Rowling, really is.

Here's what the critics are raving:



• Ben Brantley, The New York Times

"This eagerly anticipated, two-part, five-hour-plus sequel to J.K. Rowling's best-selling, seven-volume series of Harry Potter novels is the kind of play you want to describe in detail, if only to help you figure out how it achieves what it does," Brantley writes. "That would be a kind of magic that is purely theatrical yet somehow channels the addictive narrative grip of Ms. Rowling's prose."

• Dominic Cavendish, Daily Telegraph

Cavendish awards the play five stars, writing: "British theatre hasn't known anything like it for decades and I haven't seen anything directly comparable in all my reviewing days."

He admits he "went into the Palace Theatre a sceptic," but Cavendish says the show is a "triumph," despite some small complaints.

• Mark Shenton, The Stage

Shenton praises Cursed Child as a "truly game-changing production and a thrilling theatrical endeavour."

"It earns its place on the stage, feeling distinct from both the books and the screen adaptations," Shelton writes.

• Michael Billington, The Guardian

Billington gives the play four stars (of five), noting that the show will be understood best by "hardened Potterheads."

He writes, "I relied heavily on the expertise of my 11-year-old grandson, who was able to explain to me the intricacies of a Triwizard Tournament, sat enraptured through the day and who made a basic critical point: 'If you've read the books, you'll get more out of the play."

Devoted fans, he says, "gasped at new pieces of information," but the show is enjoyable even without an endless knowledge of the wizarding world.

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• Matt Trueman, Variety

"It is, quite simply, spellbinding: The Show That Lived Up to Expectations – and Then Some," says Trueman, calling the show a hit both on stage and at the box office.

"Twenty years ago, Harry Potter turned a generation onto reading," he writes. " The Cursed Child could do the same for theater."

• Jack Shepherd, Independent

"Well, Harry Potter fans, you will be glad to know that J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne, and John Tiffany have created a theatre production of immense wonder, one that is highly referential to Harry Potter stories past and is, above all, truly magical," Shepherd raves of the five-star production.

He notes that the first half could be billed as a "magic show" due to its incredible effects, but part two becomes darker.

"Where part one was a jubilant ride through four years at Hogwarts, starting off at platform nine and three-quarters, the second part is an emotional rollercoaster that sees the story progress through what will no doubt be quite a controversial storyline."

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child officially opens at the Palace Theatre in London's West End on Saturday.