London box offices will no doubt go into meltdown this autumn, following the announcement that a new original story by Harry Potter creator JK Rowling is to hit the West End. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child has been adapted for the stage by scriptwriter of the moment Jack Thorne, and will receive its premiere in the summer of 2016 at the Palace Theatre.
Thorne’s previous credits for theatre include Hope and Let The Right One In (both directed by John Tiffany, associate director at the Royal Court, who will also be on board for the Cursed Child); Bunny for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival; Stacy for Trafalgar Studios; and 2nd May 1997 and When You Cure Me for the Bush Theatre. His recent acclaimed adaptations include The Physicists for Donmar Warehouse, and Stuart: A Life Backwards for Hightide Theatre. Film credits include War Book, A Long Way Down and The Scouting Book for Boys, while his television work includes The Last Panthers, Don’t Take My Baby, This Is England, The Fades, Glue, and Cast-Offs. In 2012 he won BAFTAs for best series (The Fades) and best serial (This Is England ’88).
Tiffany’s direction will be set to movement by Steven Hoggett, with designs by Tony Award-winner Christine Jones, costumes by Katrina Lindsay, lighting by Neil Austin, music by Imogen Heap, sound by Gareth Fry, and special effects by Jeremy Chernick.
Rowling is the creator of the seven core Harry Potter novels, which combined have sold over 450 million copies and have been translated into 78 languages, as well as three series companion books originally published for charity. She is also the author of The Casual Vacancy, a novel for adults published in 2012, and, under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith, wrote the Cormoran Strike crime series. She’s currently working on a screenplay for the film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, based on the characters in her Harry Potter companion book of the same name.
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child will be produced by Sonia Friedman Productions, Colin Callender’s Playground Entertainment, and Harry Potter Theatrical Productions. Tickets will go on public sale in the UK this autumn; more information and purchasing details will shared on the production’s official website in late July.