A mismatched set of thoughts on the new Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
1. "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child", after reading its synopsis and the accompanying image invoking a child curled in a nest, seems to indicate that the story will be dealing with the aftermath of Harry trying to raise a normal family while still remaining the largest wizarding celebrity of the 20th century, and the impact that has on his son, Albus. The nest and the boy, I presume, are representing Albus and his
2. Following point #1, (and you're probably thinking, "Well, DUH", but I'm going to write it down anyway): I wonder if some of the impetus for this script comes from JKR's own experiences in dealing with becoming a celebrity almost overnight. I know she really struggled to get a handle on it back in the early 2000's when the Harry Potter series took off, and much of that was mirrored in Harry in the later books, so I'd imagine that also played a role in the writing of this script as well.
3. I don't know how I feel about this being a play. I think I am reserving judgment, because my experience with Jo in the past has always been that she's come out on top, and she has made certain choices for very important reasons that always are clarified later. There has to be something that a theatre production can offer which words alone cannot for this story. I will certainly miss the language structure of her writing, because I honestly enjoyed that very much, and I have liked still spotting those familiar words and habits of writing in the other crime novels she's written, different as they are from Harry (which, they DEFINITELY are different).
4. I didn't anticipate them releasing a published version of the script so quickly, but I had envisioned that they would record the West End London production within a year and release that on video/DVD because, let's be honest, half of the world wants to see this play and doesn't have the means to fly over oceans and continents to do so. I must say that I am more pleased with their decision to publish the script when the play opens, because I prefer printed text to waiting around for a videorecording of a stage play (which is not the same experience as a cinematic film). And honestly, after reading 4,224 pages of Harry in my own brain, even if it's written in a script format, I'd still rather see Harry doing and saying these things in my head before seeing him on film.
5. I am a little--err--annoyed? that they are calling this the "Eighth Harry Potter book". Yes, I supposed now that it's going to be available for purchase in print form it is indeed a "book", but I still see it as a "script". Generally, when we use the term 'book' colloquially, we mean 'novel'. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is not a novel. It is a script. Hopefully, a good one. But keep in mind that JKR did not write the script. The official scriptwriter is a man by the name of Jack Thorne, though the screenplay is "based on an original story by JKR", which certainly blurs the lines of who is really responsible for each word. Seeing as JKR wrote the screenplay for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and that she also helped write the script for the final Harry Potter film, it is not implausible that she could be doing a quite a bit of the writing. The question is, will the script, when finished, sound like her? Or sound like the voice of someone else?
6. Harry is going to be OLD. Which might be weird. For me and the rest of my generation who grew up with Harry, we were reading about him at approximately (and often exactly) the same ages as he was when the books (see?? I mean 'novels', and you knew that's what I meant) were initially released.
But in this new "book" (*cough*script*cough*), Harry is going to be 19 years in the future (script picks up where the epilogue of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows ended), meaning the year will be 2017 and Harry will be 37 years old--more than a decade older than me and those of us who grew up with Harry.
7. The play (and the fact that Harry is now a middle-aged grown-up), seems to suggest that it will be geared more toward adults, but the advertisement for the production indicates "ages 10 and up", so my hope is that it will retain the child/young adult qualities of the original series. But that remains to be seen.
2. Following point #1, (and you're probably thinking, "Well, DUH", but I'm going to write it down anyway): I wonder if some of the impetus for this script comes from JKR's own experiences in dealing with becoming a celebrity almost overnight. I know she really struggled to get a handle on it back in the early 2000's when the Harry Potter series took off, and much of that was mirrored in Harry in the later books, so I'd imagine that also played a role in the writing of this script as well.
3. I don't know how I feel about this being a play. I think I am reserving judgment, because my experience with Jo in the past has always been that she's come out on top, and she has made certain choices for very important reasons that always are clarified later. There has to be something that a theatre production can offer which words alone cannot for this story. I will certainly miss the language structure of her writing, because I honestly enjoyed that very much, and I have liked still spotting those familiar words and habits of writing in the other crime novels she's written, different as they are from Harry (which, they DEFINITELY are different).
4. I didn't anticipate them releasing a published version of the script so quickly, but I had envisioned that they would record the West End London production within a year and release that on video/DVD because, let's be honest, half of the world wants to see this play and doesn't have the means to fly over oceans and continents to do so. I must say that I am more pleased with their decision to publish the script when the play opens, because I prefer printed text to waiting around for a videorecording of a stage play (which is not the same experience as a cinematic film). And honestly, after reading 4,224 pages of Harry in my own brain, even if it's written in a script format, I'd still rather see Harry doing and saying these things in my head before seeing him on film.
5. I am a little--err--annoyed? that they are calling this the "Eighth Harry Potter book". Yes, I supposed now that it's going to be available for purchase in print form it is indeed a "book", but I still see it as a "script". Generally, when we use the term 'book' colloquially, we mean 'novel'. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is not a novel. It is a script. Hopefully, a good one. But keep in mind that JKR did not write the script. The official scriptwriter is a man by the name of Jack Thorne, though the screenplay is "based on an original story by JKR", which certainly blurs the lines of who is really responsible for each word. Seeing as JKR wrote the screenplay for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and that she also helped write the script for the final Harry Potter film, it is not implausible that she could be doing a quite a bit of the writing. The question is, will the script, when finished, sound like her? Or sound like the voice of someone else?
6. Harry is going to be OLD. Which might be weird. For me and the rest of my generation who grew up with Harry, we were reading about him at approximately (and often exactly) the same ages as he was when the books (see?? I mean 'novels', and you knew that's what I meant) were initially released.
- Summer, 2002 - first read Harry Potter; I was 12. At this point, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is the most recently released book, two years previous in summer of 2000, making Harry 14 years old at the time. The first movie had broken box office records in theaters 6 months earlier (in which Harry was 11 years old). Later that November, the Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets film in released, in which Harry is 12.
- Summer, 2003 - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is released; Harry is 15; I was 13 years old.
- Summer, 2004 - The film version of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban comes out, in which Harry is 13. I was 14.
- July 16, 2005 - (I remember the date, because I had a Bloomsbury countdown clock in my room with the days on it that I had decorated) Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is released; I am 15; Harry is 16. That November, the film version of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire comes out, where Harry, Ron, and Hermione are 14 (15 in Hermione's case).
- 2006 - Lots of announcements about the final book (via JKR's mysterious door on her website--gee, I miss that site and the secret door), and some trailers for the next movie, but otherwise, nothing exciting happens. I am 16.
- July, 2007 - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix movie is released (in which Harry is 15), followed shortly afterward by Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows book on the evening of the 20th/21st. Both Harry and I are 17 years of age, and no longer have the Trace on us.
But in this new "book" (*cough*script*cough*), Harry is going to be 19 years in the future (script picks up where the epilogue of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows ended), meaning the year will be 2017 and Harry will be 37 years old--more than a decade older than me and those of us who grew up with Harry.
7. The play (and the fact that Harry is now a middle-aged grown-up), seems to suggest that it will be geared more toward adults, but the advertisement for the production indicates "ages 10 and up", so my hope is that it will retain the child/young adult qualities of the original series. But that remains to be seen.
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