Introducing The Cast For “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child”
Fans of the Harry Potter series of books and movies have been anxiously awaiting for details as to who would be cast to play their favorite “golden trio,” and now their wish has been granted. ComingSoon.net reports that the producers of the upcoming stage play, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, have officially announced the cast for the show, which will include Jamie Parker (Valkyrie, Lawless) as Harry, Noma Dumezweni (“Doctor Who”) as Hermione, and Paul Thornley (Les Miserables, The Brothers Grimsby) as Ron.
Series creator J.K. Rowling said: “I’m so excited with the choice of casting for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. I can’t wait to see Jamie, Noma and Paul bring the adult Harry, Hermione and Ron to life on stage next summer.”
Now there has been some concern expressed by fans over the casting of Dumezweni as Hermione. While in the movies she was played by Emma Watson, the play will see Hermione played by someone who is Anglo-African. However, J.K. Rowling herself took to Twitter to set matters straight regarding Hermione:
Canon: brown eyes, frizzy hair and very clever. White skin was never specified. Rowling loves black Hermione 😘 https://t.co/5fKX4InjTH
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) December 21, 2015
Directed by John Tiffany, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is a new play by Jack Thorne based on an original new story by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child will receive its world premiere in London’s West End at the Palace Theatre in the summer of 2016 and is the eighth story in the Harry Potter series and the first official Harry Potter story to be presented on stage. Further casting for the Company of over 30 will be announced at a later date.
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is officially described as follows: “It was always difficult being Harry Potter and it isn’t much easier now that he is an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband and father of three school-age children. 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. As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn the uncomfortable truth: sometimes, darkness comes from unexpected places.”
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is one play presented in two parts. Both parts are intended to be seen in order on the same day (matinee and evening), or on two consecutive evenings. Previews begin June 7, 2016 with the Opening performances of Part One and Part Two on Saturday July 30, 2016. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is currently booking to May 27, 2017.
So how do you feel about the casting of Hermione for the play? Does it matter in the grand scheme of things, or is the quality of the story what matters most? Are you going to be seeing it if you can?
Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below!
Casting a black woman as Hermoine is fine, so long as it’s a separate continuity. This can’t be the same continuity as the movies, though. Hermoine’s race wouldn’t change over the years. (Unless if her race changed due to a spell, which in the world of Harry Potter would not be unbelievable).
Rowling is correct – the book never says she’s white. So this could be a sequel to the book, but it CAN NOT be in continuity with the movies because in the movies she clearly *IS* white and unless if we assume it was a magical change, a person’s race doesn’t change over the years.