So I went ahead and bought Cursed Child and read it within a day. I actually quite enjoyed it for what it was. Favorite part? Favorite character? Let's geek out guys!

I was so excited to get it! I read it in bits and pieces to savour it and just finished yesterday so I've been wanting to talk about it! :D My thoughts:

First off, no complaints about the play format. I actually loved it, and it makes me want to read more plays. I think I was put off by some that I had to read for school, but I've enjoyed the ones I've picked out myself. I do wonder how they pull off some of the stuff, like polyjuicing into other people, time-turner scene changes...and disappearing into the sink? Like how did that actually happen, because I had no clue when reading it x)

Fave character: Scorpius! My new favourite person. Also loved what we got of Draco and him being an antagonizing ally.

You said you really enjoyed it -- I did too, because it was a new Harry Potter book. But objectively, I had a lot of "Really? Really??!?" moments. (tbh this is why I stopped reading at points. Early on it was to savour the rest, but in the later acts it's because I was bewildered)

Now this wasn't written by JKR, and well, I can tell. I've read a lot of comments that it was like fanfiction. Come on, there's been better fanfiction :P You know how I said how much I liked Scorpius and Draco? Can't say the same for anyone else, really.

Ron - Never my favourite character in the series, but I had nothing against they guy. Poor Roonil Wazlib in this one said little more than "[insert 'funny' line]" or "Oof, I'm old!" I think I liked the alternate timeline versions of him best because that seemed more like real characters to me.

Albus - look, I wouldn't want you as my son either lol, sorry, just me being harsh :P Nah, I get his angst and his jumping into things is very reminiscent of his dad's adventures. But he didn't win me over as much as HP in the original series. Speaking of...

Harry - OOP. lots of family drama here. Not really sure how I feel about it. I liked the convos with Dumbledore though.

I'm not going to nitpick about the time travelling stuff, because I loved seeing the alternate timelines. Woo, Scorpion King! hehe Although Cedric becoming a death eater? Really? Mmhmm. Hermione and Ginny felt different than what I remembered (I know they've grown up, but still). McGonagall felt the most true to form out of all of them. What was going on in with the Trolley Witch? Now that was the plot twist of the century, sorry Voldemort's daughter.

Also, I can get Rose not warming up to Scorpius (kid prejudices, the rumours etc) (also lol at trying to mash them together at the end). But why the coldness between Albus and Rose? They were BFF cousins at the beginning. Did Albus ignore her when he became friends with Scorpius? Or did Rose avoid him because of who Albus became friends with? A bit of both? Anyway, that disappointed me but at least they acknowledged it later on.

So, overall...hey, I still liked it. Now I know it's canon, but for me I'm going to think about it as separate from the original series since probably what bothered me most was knowing those original characters and seeing that this is how they turn out. But as a separate work, entertaining (though maybe not for the intended reasons). thanks for the board! (:

Im yet to read the script but have seen the show twice now and i have to say its possibly my favourite play that ive ver seen (after Hamlet lol) as it translates sooooo well to the stage! The illusionist did an amazing job with the magic and ok, so it does come across as a bit fanfiction-y but seeing it on the stage completely puts that to the back of your mind as youre so wowed by what youre seeing! I spent part one either with my mouth hanging open in awe or grinning from ear to ear as its everything id hoped for after never thinking that we would get another HP story. I pretty much sobbed for the entire 2nd half of part 2 lol Im planning to see it again soon (plus side to living near London means i can queue for returned tickets!) and cant wait! I still sobbed the 2nd time i saw it even though i knew what was gonna happen XD

Jamie Parker as Harry is by far my favourite from the whole show as he is just perfect in every way! Ive seen him in 4 other productions and he has always been amazing but he is just outstanding as Harry!

If you have any questions as to how anything is staged, let me know :)

Thanks for the offer, I would love to ask a question or two! :D The actual show sounds SO fantastic. Since I've just got the screenplay to go off of, I can only comment on the storyline, but from all the rave reviews I've heard it must really shine in action! I'm so curious, how did they pull off the polyjuice potion swap? I can imagine some clever transitions to switch between actors, but then for parts where the potion starts wearing off and the two people start to blend together...real magic?? aha :D Also, I was wonder for the scene when Albus and Scorpius go down the drain in the girls' bathroom--was it just a gigantic sink with a drainhole big enough for a person? I guess my mind was stuck on the version from the movies that had large sinks like troughs but still regular drains if I recall?

I am so jealous of you! I live in the US and while the local/"less professional" theater is really good, the established theaters in town tend to stick to classics and it takes a while for a new show like Cursed Child to reach us. Awesome HA btw. Scorpio is a fantastic character! I'm actually really interested in the Delphini plot arch. I really wanted to see her get a redemption though. I was on board for her to go to Azkaban until she started talking about how she just wanted to see her dad... It had to really suck to be Delphini as a kid and an emotionally damaged adult.

The polyjuice scene was very well done! The 3 kids are wearing large robes and then as they take the potion the 3 adults come up through trap doors in the floor beneath the robes and while the children are moving about (still on the spot, but bending and moving their arms etc) they move in to place beneath the robes and eventually replace the child as they show their arm as the childs arm is hidden back in to the robe and then the child bends over in pain, the robe then falls forward, concealing their face and as they stand up straight the adults head appears. Its all very interesting to watch and you wouldnt be able to see it if you were sat far away. Ive been sat in the 3rd row twice so its quite cool to see the illusions up close. Transitioning back isnt seen as the characters get sucked into a book case and come out as their younger selves.

The bathroom scene is a large round block of sinks with a large hole in the middle that the kids jump down.

Thanks :) Im very lucky that i live so close! Id see it every weekend if i could afford it lol

oh how cool! Thank you for explaining (:

I'm sorry... Delphini was too much for me. She was awful and JK destroyed time turners for a reason. I did not really like the cursed child and harry and jame's relationship broke my heart.