6 'Harry Potter and the Cursed Child' clues that won't spoil the story
LONDON -- The first previews of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child -- both Part One and Part Two, which ran on Tuesday and Thursday this week -- are now completed, and the fan reaction has been overwhelmingly positive.
The play doesn't officially open until July 31 -- at which point the script will also be available in bookshops across the world and online -- and in the wake of J.K. Rowling's video asking fans not to give spoilers away, the secrets of the Cursed Child are still very tightly under wraps.
We have the synopsis of the play, of course, but that's all too tantalisingly brief. Here are six other clues to what we can expect from the eighth Harry Potter story.
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1. The play is going to kick off with some Hogwarts action.
Judging by the image posted to the official Harry Potter Play Instagram account on the night of the first preview, the action is going to kick off with a bit of good, old-fashioned sorting.
The actress standing centre-stage in that shot is Cherrelle Skeete, who plays Ron and Hermione's daughter Rose Granger-Weasley -- and it looks like she's just about to find out what house she'll be in.
2. Live owls will no longer feature in the production.
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Although there were live owls used in the preview, they're not going to feature in the public showings.
"The production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is currently in its preview stage, with the process designed to allow the creative team time to rehearse changes or explore specific scenes further before the play's official opening," read a statement sent by a spokesperson to the BBC.
"As part of this process earlier this week the decision was made not to feature live owls in any aspect of the production moving forward."
That statement has a wider significance, too -- because the previews are used to see how certain aspects of a play work in a live environment, it's always possible that certain scenes or moments could be different when the play launches publicly.
3. Scorpius Malfoy will play a big part.
On the day of the first preview, J.K. Rowling took to Twitter to wish Scorpius Malfoy actor Anthony Boyle good luck.
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The fact that Rowling specifically wished Boyle luck -- plus the fact that Boyle is one of the few actors to have a character portrait released ahead of the play -- suggests Scorpius is going to be pretty central to the Cursed Child story.
4. Scorpius Malfoy probably won't take after his father.
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Just look at that how awkward little Scorpius looks in that family photo. Grown up Draco Malfoy has the same severe and serious countenance as Lucius did, but his son looks positively out-of-place and uncomfortable -- maybe a sign that he isn't going to inherit the standard Malfoy traits of pride and arrogance.
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After Part One of the play on Tuesday, an audience member told the BBC: "I really liked the character of Scorpius Malfoy."
The fact that they specifically singled him out to say that they liked him implies there's going to be something different or unexpected about his character -- we reckon he'll go against the Malfoy grain and turn out to be a pretty decent guy.
5. Love will be just as important as it was in the books.
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6. But there will almost certainly be tears, too.
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Reactions from fans on the night also seemed to back this up.
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Knowing J.K. Rowling, we've got a horrible feeling a pretty major character might die in this one. Then again, that bitter-sweetness is what makes the Harry Potter stories so damn good; like Game of Thrones no one is truly safe, and that only adds to the tension.
Not long to go now before the secrets are revealed, Harry Potter fans.
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Topics Harry Potter JK Rowling
