“An absolute hoot, a joyous, big-hearted, ludicrously incident-packed and magic-heavy romp that has to stand as one of the most unrelentingly entertaining things to hit the West End...If the...show is a bit on the long side, it’s forgivable...The special effects, but they are astonishing...Hoggart’s startling movement direction adds an intense, ritualistic air that heightens everything...Never before has Rowling’s world felt so vividly, gaspingly, joyously real.”
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“It’s a triumph...In all key respects, it grips, it stirs, it delights…You can’t stop watching. That’s partly down to the thrill-a-minute nature of the stage-craft…The leading performances also forge a sense of journeys meaningfully undertaken…There’s a universal, relatable emotional core to the show…There are reservations, but to labor those failings would be to miss the point. The big news is that this is just what was needed, will raise the benchmark for family entertainment for years.”
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“This may be the surest commercial proposition for years, but it is also a spectacle of epic sweep and magisterial grandeur. It is, quite simply, magic...The script is both sharp and masterfully structured...Thorne's writing is leavened not only with emotion, but also with great humour...A deeply theatrical experience, a love letter to theatre itself...Full of literal magic...This pure delight...makes this eighth story in the ‘Harry Potter’ series a very particular experience.”
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“This is a major work in its own right, with an entirely distinctive theatrical life and shape. It earns its place on the stage...By turns playful and gripping, disturbing and detailed, poignant and powerful, it is superb family entertainment...It has real integrity and, crucially, could prove to be one of the most influential and important theatre works of the century...A truly game-changing production and a thrilling theatrical endeavour in its own right.”
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“A thrilling theatrical spectacle…I got as much pleasure from the staging as from the convoluted story. Tiffany and his designer, Christine Jones, have created magic out of the simplest ingredients…Any danger that the effects would upstage the actors is overcome by a set of strong performances…While it helps to be a paid-up Potterhead, Tiffany and his team stage the piece with such dazzling assurance that I finally began to see the point of being wild about Harry.”
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“For once the so-called theatrical event of the year really is just that…Packed with pathos, dazzling choreography and moments of pure enchantment…John Tiffany’s finely orchestrated production is often gorgeous…If explaining the story’s more ticklish details sometimes stalls its momentum, the characterization is richly convincing…For the legions of Pottermaniacs eager to be reunited with the characters they adore, this will be a magical experience."
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“Thrilling: gripping, dark, wittily acted and often visually dazzling. Above all, though, it succeeds because the team has put transformation right at the heart of the story, both structurally and emotionally. It’s a move that allows the drama to play to drama’s strengths...Overall, this is a triumph. For a bunch of muggles, the creative team has certainly brewed up a wizard show."
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Flawless execution, if ever there was one. Wingardium Leviosa, and objects flying. Sparks from wands. Dementors gliding right over the audience’s heads. People suspended mid-air. It’s like watching real magic. Just stunning!
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