The magic is back: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child returns to the stage

Actors discover muscle memory propelling them across the stage after 49 weeks off, and also discuss the impact of J.K. Rowling’s transphobia on the Harry Potter brand.

After an enforced 49-week pause because of COVID-19, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child has reopened at The Princess Theatre, its return to the stage a beacon of hope for the theatre sector globally.

‘I think the Hamburg production [of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child] were a week off their opening night when they got shut down in Germany, and they haven’t yet got to come back. Nor has anywhere else in the world, so we’re feeling very, very privileged,’ said actor Soren Jensen, who plays a number of roles in the Melbourne production, including the half-giant Hagrid and the Sorting Hat.

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Richard Watts OAM is ArtsHub's National Performing Arts Editor; he also presents the weekly program SmartArts on Three Triple R FM. Richard is a life member of the Melbourne Queer Film Festival, a Melbourne Fringe Festival Living Legend, and was awarded the Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards' Facilitator's Prize in 2020. In 2021 he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Green Room Awards Association. Most recently, Richard received a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in June 2024. Follow him on Twitter: @richardthewatts