With the first public preview due to open in a week’s time, the team behind Harry Potter and the Cursed Child have shared the first cast photos from the play.
Not only do we get a first look at Jamie Parker as the grown up Harry Potter, but we are also introduced to Sam Clemmett and Poppy Miller who will be bringing the characters of Albus Severus Potter and Ginny Potter to life.
The photos, taken by Charlie Gray, were shared on the play’s official Twitter account earlier today.
#HarryPotter, 19yrs later. Played by Jamie Parker in #HarryPotterPlay #CursedChild 1st public preview in one week! pic.twitter.com/RlkLURxRjr
— Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (@CursedChildLDN) May 31, 2016
Ginny Potter played by Poppy Miller in #HarryPotterPlay #CursedChild. 1st public preview in one week! pic.twitter.com/HSmOkVIFKx
— Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (@CursedChildLDN) May 31, 2016
Albus Potter (@sam_clemmett) – ready for Hogwarts. #HarryPotterPlay #CursedChild 1st public preview, a week today! pic.twitter.com/3WBvQrdTh7
— Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (@CursedChildLDN) May 31, 2016
Harry, Albus and Ginny Potter from #HarryPotterPlay #CursedChild. 1st public preview in one week's time! pic.twitter.com/0JyvEqtcyJ
— Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (@CursedChildLDN) May 31, 2016
These are the first cast images which include Katrina Lindsay’s costume designs and hair and make-up designs by Carole Hancock.
Talking of transforming into Harry Potter and donning the famous scar and glasses, Jamie Parker stated: “They’re just iconic. These are stories that people have lived with for their whole lives, they’ve grown up with and now they’re adults re-joining the tale, picking it up where they left off and I’m one of them. In a sense you don’t need more than the scar and the glasses, you kind of go, “there it is” and I don’t really know how to put it into words, it’s just immeasurably exciting and I can’t wait to show it to people.”
“It’s a unique gig in the sense that you have seven volumes of backstory that you get to bring on with you. And we were all very keen to make sure that the first time you see Harry it just feels right.”
J.K. Rowling shared her thoughts on the casting of Ginny with Pottermore. Speaking about Poppy Miller, she said: “I think a lot of people would like to have Poppy’s Ginny for a mother. Kind and cool, exactly as I imagined her.”
Rowling, however, kept very quiet regarding Sam Clemmett, simply saying: “There’s much I could say about Sam-as-Albus, but we’d be into spoiler territory so quickly I’ll just say we couldn’t have cast better.”
It has been revealed that further cast photos will be shared on Pottermore during the week, with more expected as soon as tomorrow. We’re hoping for a first look at Paul Thornley’s Ron and Noma Dumezweni’s Hermione!
The story of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child picks up 19 years after the end of the original series, with Potter working at the Ministry of Magic, now a father of three. As stated on Pottermore, “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.”
The first previews begin at the Palace Theatre in London on June 7. Tickets are available from the Cursed Child website. The corresponding script book will be released on Harry Potter’s birthday, July 31.
Will you be going to see the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child play? Let us know on Twitter @CelebMix