Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: The Journey: Behind the Scenes of the Award-Winning Stage Production by Jody Revenson

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: The Journey: Behind the Scenes of the Award-Winning Stage Production Reviews

• 
  Sara

  Simply amazing!!!
• 
  Frederique

  This book gives a wonderful insight in the making of the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child play. It tells about how the story was developed, the casting, rehearsals, designs and much more. I love the beautiful photos and original notes.
  I would advise anyone who hasn't seen the play yet to first go watch it before you read this book! It contains spoilers of some of the magical effects in the play and how they are performed.
• 
  Mr Pink Ink

  Many thanks to Jonathan Ball Publishers for sending me a review copy.
  
  In a country where the newest theatre productions take at least three years, if at all, to make its way to our shores, we need a decent substitute to tide us over and keep the FOMO away.
  
  Luckily for us, we now have this incredibly rich in detail book that takes us on a journey of the production, from its inception through opening night and beyond.
  
  The narrative is generously interspersed with beautiful photographs, detailed sketches, notebook entries, and correspondence, like email excerpts and facsimiles and letters, creating a breathtaking, sometimes long-winded, story of the show that is informative and educational.
  
  You will learn some eye-opening things, like the creation and naming of new spells; how Dementors were brought to life; how integral, and ingenious, the props and scenery are; how magic is done before your very eyes!
  
  Whether you're a Harry Potter fan or not, this book is a definite must-have, just because it'll look so good on your coffee table! This book will certainly be a great addition to your collection or will make for one fantastic gift, so do go get yourself a copy!
• 
  Meredith

  When I saw “Cursed Child” on Broadway, the story itself was my least favorite part. I had heard it was little more than glorified fan fiction, and wasn’t necessarily looking forward to seeing it play out. But I was instantly swept up in the literal magic- everything from the costumes to the lighting to the illusions was meticulously, perfectly realized to bring Hogwarts to life.
  
  This book describes the thousands of choices that went into making that magic a reality. With detailed interviews with everyone from the man who hand carves the actors’ wands (personalized to contain touches of their personalities) to the soundboard engineer who decides how a “lumos” sounds different from an “expelliarmus,” this book deepened my appreciation for theater through making it explicitly clear how thoughtful each member of the cast and crew must be in order to make the finished product. What appeared seamless on the stage was a technical jigsaw puzzle to assemble- one crafted with extreme care, and one which I would be eager to see once more.
• 
  William Christoffersen

  Hemmelighedskræmmeri i ´bag om´-bog
  
  ”Keep the secret” lyder parolen, når du forlader teatersale i hele verden, efter 6 timers teater-extravaganza. Ottende installation i J.K Rowlings Harry Potter-serie, er til forskel fra de tidligere (bog)udgivelser et originalt sceneværk. I Rowlings ond, har værket fra de allertidligste stadier været omgærdet af mystik.
  
  Det siger sig selv, at en storslået West End produktion af den populære troldmandsfortælling, fordrer teatermagi fra øverste hylde! Og folk valfarter til for at se giraffen...
  
  Os der endnu ikke har haft anledning til at opleve forestillingen, må indtil videre nøjes med: "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: The Journey: Behind the Scenes of the Award-Winning Stage Production", en coffee table book til den nette sum af 449,95,- (ca. billetpris på balkon ved UK-version af nærværende skuespil). Men så får man vel også HELE historien og samtlige slibrige detaljer!? Ik?
  
  Svaret er nej...
  
  Ved første øjekast, møder bogen alle forventninger! Særdeles velproduceret -og et hurtigt blik på vilkårlige sider, åbenbarer flotte forestillingsbilleder, fotografi fra designværksteder og prøvesale. Men glansbilledet fortaber sig hurtigt.
  
  Man skal ikke mere end et par sider ind i ´HP-eposset´, førend man konfronteres af de første tegn på bogens middelmådighed… Teksterne, som akkompagnerer de smukke fotografier, er ganske generiske. Interviews med producerer, instruktør og scenografer skraber overfladen, men kommer aldrig i dybden. Anekdoter fra tilblivelsen udebliver (med enkelte undtagelser). Dessuden holdes kortene hermetisk tæt til kroppen, hvad angår effekter og skabelsen af den hyppigt debatteret teatermagi. Øv!
  
  Konklussion: Indiskutabelt en flot bog! Men "(...) The Journey: (...)", er og bliver en ørkenvandring, som rummer enkelte spændende passager -ærgerligt at der skal være SÅ langt imellem snapsene!
• 
  Lorrie Kim

  There's much dissent within the Potter fandom about whether CC can count as canon or not, since "JKR didn't write it." It had seemed to me that she was on board with every bit of it, and this book confirms that she collaborated intensively. For example, Jack Thorne came up with the new spells, and JKR named them. (I believe that includes the infamous "Flipendo"!)
  
  My favorite parts were learning about props and costumes. The dementors' costumes are made of a special organza from Japan that can only be cut with a hot knife! The wands were all whittled by a single woodworker who wasn't told what they would be, only given instructions!
  
  I enjoyed the videos on my Nook copy; that was an unexpected and fun addition.
• 
  Michael

  I am one of the (seemingly) few people who really liked the script for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. It wasn't perfect by any means, but I felt it had a lot of really interesting ideas and it explored some themes that I thought were worthwhile to explore in a Harry Potter story. But more than that, it seemed like the kind of story that could only work on stage; the kind of production that would have taken countless amounts of people and manhours to pull off. As someone who is literally in university studying theatre, the making of a play as huge as this one was always going to be of interest to me, especially as there's little chance I'll be able to make it to Broadway anytime soon to actually see this show staged. So, when Scholastic decided to publish this book all about how the play was created and initially staged, I jumped at the chance to read it. It's exactly up my wheelhouse, and I have to say that the book does prove to be a really interesting and informative look at the making of this show - even if I do wish it went into a bit more depth.
  
  Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: The Journey is very similar to the books produced by HarperDesign for the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts films. It gives a broad overview of the overall production of the play, accompanied by a wealth of interviews with the talent behind the scenes and numerous pictures of the play/concept art/sketches/etc. Here, the book is structured to basically follow the timeline of the development of the play. It starts with the initial story meetings, featuring interviews with Jack Thorne, John Tiffany,  Sonia Friedman, and J.K. Rowling. This section isn't very long (maybe 10% of the book) and doesn't reveal a whole lot of new information about the creation of the play as the interviews seem to be sourced from previously conducted ones released to other outlets/via video (one of which is even embedded in the ebook version of the book). But it's still nice having them all in one place to look at and see just what Thorne, Tiffany, and Rowling were trying to explore with the play and why they made some of the choices they did - and how those choices were filled with love for the source material.
  
  The rest of the book focuses on the actual development of the piece, from its earliest workshops all the way to its debut on Broadway, and it's here that we get the most interesting new information. Revenson spends a great deal of time discussing the creation of the sets and the costumes for the show, interviewing the respective designers for each department, and it's so fascinating hearing how they approached the material and what steps they took to ensure the play felt like it was part of the Wizarding World without just being derivative of the films. There is some really interesting information about the creation of some of the more magical elements of the show - the Dementors, the moving staircases, etc - but there's also a lot that's kept a secret so as not to spoil the onstage magic at play. In general, Revenson's writing style is easy to read and gives the whole affair a nice, breezy feeling as she goes from subject-to-subject and person-to-person. There are tons and tons of pictures throughout this section that help illustrate what Revenson and/or the interviewee is discussing in that section and it's really nice getting to see some of the detail work on the sets/props/costumes up close in a way that you'd never get to if you just saw the show. Overall, it's a great read and I really enjoyed it.
  
  As always, my complaint about this book is the same as it's been for the previous Wizard World behind the scenes books: I wish it went more in-depth on certain areas. I understand the desired page count tends to restrict just how much Revenson can explore any given subject and I understand that this team, in particular, is really committed to protecting the secrets of how the stage magic is actually executed, but as someone intensely interested in how plays are made, I can't help but wish Revenson had been able to really dive deep into some of the work from the various departments - most notably the sound/light/scenic departments. But those are also probably the hardest ones to talk about in a book since they rely so heavily on visuals and what can actually be seen by the audience in the theatre. As much as I love these books, I sort of always wish they were just two-hour documentaries instead, so we could actually see a lot of this stuff happen instead of just reading about it. But still, it's not that big of a problem; the book is trying to be a broad overview of the creation of Cursed Child and it definitely succeeds at accomplishing that.
  
  Overall, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: The Journey is a must-read for fans of theatre and of Harry Potter alike. Even if you didn't love the play's script, I still think this book is worth reading as it really gives an insight into just how many people worked on this show. It wasn't just a thing that was written by a couple of writers and staged with a few people; there were hundreds of designers, crew members, cast, and other creatives involved in bringing this show to life and it's such a joy getting to read about them and their contributions and how all of this led to the creation of the show. As always, I find myself wishing there could be even more information - or that it could simply be a feature-length documentary or something - but that's just me and my desire to always know more about how art is made. For the average person, this book will be more than enough to quench their thirst and inform them about how this play was put together.
• 
  Erin

  Honestly, I considered not reviewing this. Like many others, I am really struggling with the recent statements and drama surrounding the author of our beloved series. However, she is not the only one who put time, effort, blood, sweat, and tears into this Broadway show. She provided the idea; that's it. There are hundreds of other people involved, which just emphasizes how collaborative theatre is at its core.
  
  Anyway, as someone who kinda liked the Cursed Child at first, has since had her senses return to her, and now is afraid to revisit it, but still wants to see the show kind of out of spite, I don't think any of us realise how much work went into this show's development. Most shows that produce a behind the scenes book like this one also include the libretto - the script of the show, usually with footnotes and tidbits of information. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child already has that, which means this book is only the background information. And there is so much of it. How the show came to be developed. How they determined which characters from the series to include, and which ones would just be a box to tick. There are chapters on the individual costume development of each of the main characters. The lighting. The sound. The dancing??? Which I didn't even know was a thing because I've never seen the show. Little, itty bitty details that we as audience members won't notice, can't notice, but are noticeable by the cast onstage, and thus improve their performances and keep them immersed in the story. I'm just so, so impressed with this show, a show I didn't really want to exist in the first place. I'm still skeptical, and probably will remain so until I get to see it onstage. It always blows my mind reading about all the detail and planning and blocking of a show. Every movement, every turn, every breath is choreographed. If you see a character make a gesture, it was planned. If they put their hands in their pockets, it was in the script. E v e r y t h i n g has a purpose and a meaning and it's so well done, we as an audience don't even notice. Anyway, regardless of my feelings of disappointment in the actual story and how our beloved characters were handled, the art of theatre is still immensely impressive, and the world just has no idea how much is actually involved in mounting a show of this size and this notoriety. I'm here for the ushers and the graphic designers and the woodcarvers and the prop masters, and so many more people, because they are more the story than the author, and they deserve recognition too.
• 
  Jaimie

  I still haven’t seen Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, but until I do I fully plan on continuing to read all the books about it in preparation! When I first read the screenplay that they published I was a little bit disappointed; it is a challenge to visualize the effects of the play when all you’re given is dialogue and the occasional stage direction. This book, on the other hand, fixes all of my doubts about the magic of the latest iteration of the Harry Potter Wizarding World, since it fills in a lot of the gaps that the screenplay was missing and hints at what seeing the play in real life would be like. Revenson explores the creation of the original play staged in London’s West End theatre district, covering the writing of a whole new Harry Potter story, casting the characters and rehearsals, designing the stage and costumes, and the secrecy that went into the creation of the play prior to opening night. For those of us who revel in the behind the scenes information about the creation of our favourite stories brought to life, this book is much like the myriad of volumes published about the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts films, just with a theatre twist! Containing interview snippets from the cast and crew who worked on the play, as well as plenty of visual imagery, we might not get the actuality of the play, but this book will certainly do to wet our appetites. Revenson closes the final chapters of the book by briefly going into the journey of the play to Broadway and beyond, touching on how the play changes slightly with each new cast of characters and new setting, so for those of us who plan on travelling to a closer theatre than London the book still does a great job of reassuring us that the magic of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child will carry on regardless of venue.
• 
  Jackie

  This is a beautiful and well put together book documenting the creative process of putting together the theatrical version of"Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" from conception to production on the West End and Broadway. As a person who didn't like reading the play but very much enjoyed seeing the play acted out, I really enjoyed reading this book, which gives a lot of behind-the-scenes information on many aspects of the play. It's obvious that a great deal of people put a lot of love and care into making the play into a reality.
  
  My favorite detail in the book is [SPOILER] that the makeup artist paints "I Must Not Tell Lies" as a scar on the back of Harry's right hand before each performance. The actor who originated the role of Harry commented that it's likely that no one beyond the first couple of rows would probably notice it, and it's not a detail that people wouldn't necessarily look for, but that if a fan was looking for it and didn't see it, they would be disappointed it wasn't there. Another great detail is that, during rehearsals, all the actors and crew members were sorted into their actual houses, and they would compete against each other to win the weekly "house cup." They would earn points for doing things well, and lose points for making mistakes (e.g., if they said the name "Voldemort" with a T at the end).
• 
  Annina | Blattzirkus

  I never expected to finish this book so quickly. Having watched Harry Potter and the Cursed Child at the Lyric Theatre in NYC, reading this book was my only chance to revisit the play. It is parted into various chapters – from the idea to the finished play and distributing it to different countries, supported with a lot of pictures.
  
  Technically, there aren't big spoilers you wouldn't be able to connect without having seen the play anyways. There are some plot points explained, yet I found them quite vague, which is a good thing for people who haven't seen the play yet. Although, at the beginning of the book, there is a stamp that says "Secret Spoilers ahead", which is true. So if you want to see that play with no information whatsoever, don't read that book.
  
  All in all, it's a nice glance for people who haven't seen the play, but more of a memory book for people who have seen the play already. I was instantly sucked back into the world and I really want to see that play again. Either in London or Hamburg, but that will take some time now, with the pandemic and all.
• 
  Brandon

  This is a nice coffee table book, but it is not as detailed as I had hoped. There are lots of nice bits of information, but probably not much that hasn't been in other articles or interviews over the past 4 years. What they do tell you never really goes in-depth; it is more like a summary of all the departments and processes that go in to making a major theatrical productions. Unlike other theatrical memoirs (admittedly written many years after the fact in most cases), there are few secrets revealed, not many silly anecdotes, and no dirt. This book would have you believe that the whole process, while hard work, was smooth and without controversy. Personally, I would have liked to know more technical details of how the sets and especially magic were done, but the book says pretty early that it is more fun not knowing. I sincerely find it more fun to know how it was done, because I can appreciate all the artistry and engineering all the more. Still, for the Harry Potter collector and theatre enthusiast, it is a nice addition, and the many photos included are gorgeous.
• 
  Helene Harrison

  Review - I haven't actually seen 'Harry Potter and the Cursed Child' on stage in the West End yet, but it is on my bucket list. However, I have seen lots of shows on stage, and I've always been interested in what happens to put a show on the stage and this book doesn't disappoint. There is quite a lot of exploration of how a world that is so loved and already visualised on screen could possibly be put onto the stage and retain the magic and love of the fans. It examines how the characters were cast, how the stage was created, and how some of the magic was done, but without giving away too many tricks of what you see before you on the stage. It's a careful balancing act and makes me want to see it on stage even more!
  
  General Subject/s? - Harry Potter / Theatre / Stage
  
  Recommend? – Yes
  
  Rating - 20/20
• 
  Ellie Dunne

  There were a lot of pictures of the original cast and the Broadway 2019 cast within this book- which, lucky for me, were the two casts that I have seen. As silly as it may seem, this really added to my enjoyment as it took me right back to how amazing The Cursed Child was those two times I saw it. Parts of this book genuinely shocked me as I read how the story was brought to stage, but it’s still left with that element of magic as it’s not described how every visual effect is achieved. The many photos chosen to illustrate this book were beautiful, and I’d definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoyed the stage production, or even if you’ve only read the screenplay- it will bring a part of the magic of the play to you (but definitely go and see it if you can!).
• 
  Daniela (danis_bookpourri)

  Nachdem ich das Theaterstück zu "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" schon ein paar mal gesehen habe, kommt jetzt natürlich so ein Behind-the-Scenes Buch gerade richtig um nochmal teilhaben zu können, wie aus einer Idee am Ende ein ganzes Theaterstück wird.
  Tolle Anektdoten, mit interessanten Skizzen von den Anfängen, als das Stück noch in der Entwicklung war, sowie super schöne Bühnenbilder von den einzelnen Spielorten.
  Auch gibts das Buch einen guten Blick darüber, wie Theater funktioniert.
  Es ist definitv für diejenigen empfehlenswert, die schon das Stück in einem der vielen Spielorte gesehen haben.
• 
  Ashley Lambert-Maberly

  Terrific. Actual information (rather than just pretty pictures), telling a compelling story about the making of this production from a variety of viewpoints. And (which rarely happens reading non-fiction compared to fiction) I was moved to tears at various points. They put their hearts into this, and it shows.
  
  (And it's an awfully good play!) I miss the theatre. (July 2020--everything's shut done, of course).
  
  (Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s).
• 
  Teagan

  A magical journey in to 'Harry Potter and the cursed child' for a theatre nut.
  
  The images had me stroking the pages as my brain soaked up every morsel of information that was revealed. I loved hearing about how decisions were made, problems overcome and where the creative inspo came from. I really admired the need to be different from the movie and create Harry Potter in the theatrical sense.
  
  If you collect programs on the regular and allow your eyes to pour over every directors note and creators letter, if have seen it or grand dreams to see it I highly recommend this companion ;)
• 
  KJ

  3.5*?
  
  Some parts I skimmed because cbf but it was so interesting to hear about the behind the scenes! And some of those tiny details they put in just makes it so much more magical.
  
  I absolutely adored the show when I saw it last year, even if the story itself can be a bit laughable plot wise saying aloud but to see it all come together visually with characters you love and the magic is truly a wonderful experience 💕💕
  
  (Definately brought back good feelings from when I was watched the show 😍)
• 
  Joni Newman

  Not sure if this book would interest everyone as much as it did me, but after seeing the production (and given that I’m getting my MFA in theatre) it was really enlightening to read not just for sake of love for this particular show but as someone interested in the creative process it takes to mount such a production. I wish I could have had about 2,000 more pages with each department to pick their brains on how they made this magic.
• 
  Hazel

  Cursed Child was such a theatrical accomplishment and so many extremely talented theatre production folks were involved with it. She Who Must Not Be Named and the actual content of the script aside this is an incredible show and Jody Revenson is so good at these behind the scenes books.
  
  When this inevitably comes back since the most profitable shows will be the first to return, I will be genuinely very conflicted on how much money and effort I want to invest in seeing this 🙃
• 
  Zoe

  I just saw The Cursed Child last Sunday in San Francisco, so I figured I’d read this book while it was still fresh in my head. I was expecting a lot more description on how they did the illusions, (or at the very least how they got a literal swimming pool in the stage) but the only one they described was the dementors. It’s not that it was poorly written or uninteresting, it’s just that it didn’t quite have what I was looking for.
• 
  Katie

  This is an in-depth and detailed look into the process of developing the Cursed Child story and bringing that to the stage. A must for ay fan of the franchise. As other reviewers have suggested, if you can you should go and see the stage production first, as the book does reveal some of the magic that is best seen fresh in the theatre.
• 
  Carolien

  I only wish there was more to read! It's really cool to read about how the play came to be, from the script and workshops to the costumes and movement and the theatre and well, everything.
  
  Whatever you might think of the plot, I really think Cursed Child is a remarkable, magic, piece of theatre, and it was great to learn more about it.
• 
  Jeni Enjaian

  I absolutely love these books. Art fascinates me as does the process to create the final product presented to consumers, in this case the Harry Potter movies. The next three books that I review, including this one, all get the same rating and review. The individual books simply focus on a different aspect of the Harry Potter movies.
• 
  Ann

  Really fun to relive the show. Worth the read for the stunning pictures alone, but I enjoyed the text too. Especially where they talked about developing the magic tricks. It doesn't give everything away, but I wouldn't recommend this book until after you've seen the show.
• 
  Katelin

  I was lucky enough to see this play with the original cast on their final performance on Broadway. No matter how you feel about the script the play itself is amazing. This book takes you inside the production and how they prepared. A must read if you love Harry Potter
• 
  Andrew

  GAH!!! As weird as reading the script was, this book showcases off creating theatre, the story behind HP and the Cursed Child, and is filled with great pictures!
  
  I want to see this show now sooooo bad!