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Remembered another thought I had: They bring back boring characters like the Diggorys or the freaking pastry lady on the train, and give us lovely fan-service versions of previously brilliant characters like Snape, but they tease and mention the glorious Professor Neville Longbottom without giving him even one scene? Jerks! I was also reminded of this line today, which I think is a contender for the worst in the whole play: Scorpious Malfoy: "Wow. Squeak. My geekness is a-quivering." Does even the most embarrassing shut-in nerd talk like that? Holy poo poo.
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Aug 1, 2016 11:52
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I thought the scene where Draco is talking about loneliness was kinda moving. Draco in general is interesting in this. 20 years removed from the bluster of teenagehood and the influence of his father and the other death eaters. He might be the standout character in this story - him and his son.
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Aug 1, 2016 15:26
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I honestly can't fuckin' imagine what Draco Malfoy's home life must be. I also desperately want to know what Lucius Malfoy's response to his grandson must be because I am fairly sure if he is actually dead it is because he heard Scorpius Malfoy speak and promptly killed himself.
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Aug 1, 2016 15:31
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Still in Act One now, but I do think a lot of the clunky dialogue and silly sequences probably work better in an actual stage performance with the right director and actors. The stage directions have way, way too much internal and abstract descriptions for my taste, so it's kind of hard to imagine it though. At this point all I can picture is the level of professionalism as A Very Potter Musical. Still not hating it yet.
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Aug 2, 2016 04:26
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I just finished it and I didnt hate it, but I get why people are giving it some stick. I think that in general though everyone needs to take a step back and realise that this is not a Harry Potter book like any of the others. Its very very much a stage play and its clunky dialogue and hammy moments really reflect that fact. While reading this, there were so many moments where I found myself thinking, "this will be absolutely spectacular to watch on stage". I absolutely cannot wait for the tickets to become available again so I can get the opportunity to see this story as intended. I definitely would like to see what Rowling would do to the story given the opportunity to turn it into a proper book though.
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Aug 2, 2016 14:26
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Something else that's really different about Cursed Child is that while the main series always had moral message undertones of love, friendship, teamwork, etc...this one is pretty explicitly laser focused on a message about parenthood, and the baggage that comes with it
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Aug 2, 2016 15:22
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overly thought out bullshit to follow: Albus and Scorpius write a note on the blanket thinking in the future Harry will read it. What happened in the time between when they wrote the message, sum 40 years, and when Harry read it? Delphi would have accomplished her mission, poo poo would have changed and went really dark and the events that happened to give Harry a kid and he would never have discovered the message based on the events we saw. Instead the only thing that went unchanged from the past to the present was the message... pretty selective. They could have solved this easily by having albus and scorpius attacking delphi and killing her and then hiding for 40 years knowing theyd be preserving the future they knew and that when the note got to Harry in the future hed have a chance to undo things and they wouldnt be killers/bad lil boy wizards and maybe get a way back to the future with him in the reset of those events. Echoing what an earlier poster said, time travel sucks for most story telling. Really did not enjoy this book.
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Aug 2, 2016 20:52
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There are, like, three decent time traveling stories ever. A corny Harry Potter fan-fiction prooooobably wasn't gonna reach that high.
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Aug 2, 2016 21:12
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There's a lot of scenes in this where I don't get how they're able to do it in a live production. Does anyone know how they do Polyjuice transformations live? Do the actors just swap with the person they're transforming into somehow? For its faults, I'd really like to see a performance of this still because it seems like a technically interesting production.
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Aug 3, 2016 07:05
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Nichael posted:There's a lot of scenes in this where I don't get how they're able to do it in a live production. Does anyone know how they do Polyjuice transformations live? Do the actors just swap with the person they're transforming into somehow? For its faults, I'd really like to see a performance of this still because it seems like a technically interesting production. I haven't read the script yet but I actually saw the play during the 2nd or 3rd week of previews at the end of June. The Poly-juice transformation you mention didn't strike me as a particularity memorable (so I might be mis-remembering this) but I believe that it was done by having both actors come out in a cloak with the rest of the stage darkened except for the 3 characters and then after taking the potion the other actor would slowly take over "the body" and then the original actor ducks out, presumably in a trap door. I pretty much agree with with what everyone is saying...the story is definitely "meh" ....but I'll be damned if I didn't have a smile on my face for the entirety of both nights of the show. It was just REALLY really entertaining wonderful production. The actor for Scorpius was great and probably one of my stars of the show. Played an corny, geeky, loser with just enough charm to come across as endearing enough (and hamming it up enough) to deliver many of those awkward lines mentioned above to make the audience laugh. There is a LOT of movement on stage with moving platforms and staircases including the underwater scenes done pretty interestingly, the magic battles, and the effects they used for every time they used the time turner were simple yet extremely effective . The end of the show did come across fairly cheesy and I think the character/actor for Delphi was probably the weakest of the bunch. Just every part of the show oozed so much charm that despite its flaws I would be back in line to see it again given the chance. I'm probably won't end up getting/reading the script-book for a while but I'm really not surprised its being poorly received since the written story is really just only one part of the experience.
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Aug 3, 2016 08:13
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Trinexx posted:I'm probably won't end up getting/reading the script-book for a while but I'm really not surprised its being poorly received since the written story is really just only one part of the experience. Thats the sucky part. I'm sure the play is interesting to watch, but a majority of the fans of Harry Potter books will never see it and this book as a stand-alone is all we'll get and judge it by.
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Aug 3, 2016 09:56
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Blackchamber posted:Thats the sucky part. I'm sure the play is interesting to watch, but a majority of the fans of Harry Potter books will never see it and this book as a stand-alone is all we'll get and judge it by. They could film the play.
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Aug 3, 2016 10:24
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Hedrigall posted:They could film the play. They could. They could go on a world tour. They could make a big budget hollywood film. The fans are reading the book and judging it now though.
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Aug 3, 2016 10:51
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Sounds like usual Harry Potter crap, honestly.
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Aug 3, 2016 11:29
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I enjoyed this:
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Aug 4, 2016 11:37
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I did enjoy that when Harry grew up he became a whiny lovely rear end in a top hat who was everything he would have hated as a kid. it's very appropriate. "Dolores Umbridge had some pretty good ideas" though Harry as he instituted horrifying ministry restrictions at Hogwarts in order to torment a young child who was the victim of constant slander.
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Aug 4, 2016 17:27
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http://fredrikdeboer.com/2016/08/04/check-out-this-harry-potter-and-the-cursed-child-fan-theory/quote:’m listening to a Slate podcast, featuring ostensible adults, asking why the new Harry Potter book, a play called Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, is disappointing. This, it seems, is a fairly common response to the play.
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Aug 4, 2016 18:58
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Number Ten Cocks posted:http://fredrikdeboer.com/2016/08/04/check-out-this-harry-potter-and-the-cursed-child-fan-theory/ The plot of the book involves an aged Harry Potter struggling with parenthood at the same time his son struggles with his father. It is absolutely an unashamedly written for the adults who grew up with Potter to see with their kids.
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Aug 4, 2016 19:03
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ImpAtom posted:The plot of the book involves an aged Harry Potter struggling with parenthood at the same time his son struggles with his father. It is absolutely an unashamedly written for the adults who grew up with Potter to see with their kids. Might have come out a hair too early, then. I grew up with the books and I'm 26 and childless. And even if I had had kids at 21-22 or so...they'd be a bit too young for a Harry Potter stage play
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Aug 4, 2016 19:11
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jivjov posted:Might have come out a hair too early, then. I grew up with the books and I'm 26 and childless. And even if I had had kids at 21-22 or so...they'd be a bit too young for a Harry Potter stage play The first Harry Potter book came out in 1997. We're approaching the 20th anniversary. If you were the same age as Harry when it started you're now almost 30. There's plenty of Potter fans who got into the books as teenagers or older. I'm sure there are plenty of Potter fans who don't have kids but that doesn't change the fact the plot is about an older Harry dealing with his kid who is nothing like him and his kid dealing with a parent he just can't communicate with or understand. (Edit: Alternate subtext reading: It's about Harry being unable to deal with the fact his son is gay as a lark)
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Aug 4, 2016 19:14
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I kinda liked it overall. I thought Scorpius and Draco were really interesting.
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Aug 4, 2016 19:45
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The best part of it was definitely when we find out that Harry is afraid of pigeons.
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Aug 6, 2016 03:34
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nerdpony posted:The best part of it was definitely when we find out that Harry is afraid of pigeons. That really should have been Harry's boggart.
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Aug 6, 2016 03:35
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Sold like 180k in a few days in Australia. Crazy.
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Aug 6, 2016 04:34
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After finishing, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Some parts were genuinely good, and some parts were goofy and fun to laugh at. I read it after having read that spoiler article, so I was really expecting the worst, and was pleasantly surprised. Even the time travel did not bother me as much as it bothered a lot of people. I thought of it more as Back to the Future, with the same causation rules, and similar logic that falls apart of you think about it too hard. It makes just enough sense if you don't overanalyze it like a turbonerd. This poo poo ain't Primer. Just sit back and enjoy Bizarro Ron and Hermione awkwardly flirting some more. In keeping Back to the Future in mind, I was also able to laugh off the supremely silly "Voldemort Day" sequence as the Harry Potter version of Alternate 1985. I didn't even mind Delphi as much as I thought I would. She showed up infrequently enough that she could display those offputting Mary Sue characteristics to put you on edge without actually noticeably overtaking the story like a real Mary Sue would, at least until the end when we find out who she is. One thing I really liked about it was the slightly off versions of typical elements of the rest of the Harry Potter books. For example, Harry always, always, always looking in the wrong direction for the bad guy. This time when he thought Scorpius was evil, we knew, or at least were pretty sure he was wrong, and because he finally had the power to act on his suspicions, he basically assumed the role of minor antagonist. It's wild that after seven books, the play is the thing that plays with perspective. There were a few things that bothered me. Rose had one good scene that made me think "Yes, this is exactly what someone who is a combination of Ron and Hermione would act like," but then after the very beginning of the first act essentially vanished. Also, the majority of the story being Albus and Scorpius' Excellent Adventure, but in the end, nope. Who's name is on the title? Go play, kids, HP's got this. Also, I guess if you're not able to laugh at and compartmentalize the totally silly parts, it would probably be a drag. Still, overall fun story, great characters, and the warm familiar Harry Potter feeling. Absolutely buying tickets if it ever shows anywhere close to me.
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Aug 6, 2016 23:29
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I'm just starting it and I've gotten a bit past where Albus and Scorpius talk to Amos in the old folks home. I don't really watch plays, so I find myself kind of confused at these two-page scenes. Wouldn't they have to set all the props up each time the scene changes? That seems kind of annoying when they're doing it dozens of times.
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Aug 7, 2016 02:43
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Momomo posted:I'm just starting it and I've gotten a bit past where Albus and Scorpius talk to Amos in the old folks home. I don't really watch plays, so I find myself kind of confused at these two-page scenes. Wouldn't they have to set all the props up each time the scene changes? That seems kind of annoying when they're doing it dozens of times. I'm guessing different parts of the stage are lit up with mini-sets for the current scene, while the parts of the stage in darkness are having their scenery changed.
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Aug 7, 2016 02:49
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The 'what did you expect from Harry Potter?' stuff is really irritating. The plot of this was nothing like the novels at all. The books have (surprisingly deep) internally consistent rules that add a huge amount of richness and flavour of the world, and this story throws so many of those out of the window. I know it's a different medium and can't be 100% faithful, but a lot of it comes across as lazy. The novels also have far, far better plots. Back to the Future 2/chaos theory time travel stories are so done to death and reek of 'made for TV sequel' material. When the books dabbled in time travel they felt so much more restrained. Ah well. As others have said it'd be really interesting to see it play out on stage, it read like there would've been some pretty impressive special effects. I can't say I'm surprised that the plot's so lacking, but a story this dirt simple and tropey could've easily fit into a single 2 hour play. Hearing it was a two-parter gave me the impression that it'd have some meat on its bones. I tried to buy tickets last week, but I entered the queue at position 120,000 or so. Maybe it'll actually be possible to see this thing in 2025.
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Aug 7, 2016 17:06
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So I finished this and I think its very bad, the dialogue is awful existing characters dont feel like grown up versions of themselves just different characters except for Draco who I quite liked and the plot is bullshit. However, I already have tickets for this and I think its going to be an enjoyable show, I mean the plot will still suck but maybe some of the actors will do something with the dialogue, but most of all with the things going on in the play and the money being spent on its going to be bloody spectacular and huge technical achievement so that will be enjoyable at least. Edit: Hedrigall posted:I'm guessing different parts of the stage are lit up with mini-sets for the current scene, while the parts of the stage in darkness are having their scenery changed. I wanna change my opinion I'm being slightly unkind there were bits I really liked I loved the conversation between Harry and Ginny in Godrics Hollow about how he was heroic in small ways, Harry watching his parents die was really well written and the end scene between Harry and Albus was nice. I think actually my biggest problem was any Harry, Ron and Hermione interactions these people are meant to have been the best of friends for years but their conversations read like they written by someone who's never just chatted with their mates trying to imitate friends speaking, it was bad. StoneOfShame fucked around with this message at 02:14 on Aug 8, 2016 |
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Aug 8, 2016 00:50
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It was cute, definitely fanservicey with all the returning characters and the fawning over Snape. It didn't feel like there was a real appreciation of the stakes, especially with the spontaneous reveal of another time device. Whoever the intended demographic was, it definitely read like a baby play for babies. Also the stage directions were needlessly overwrought for the sake of being read and often didn't seem like they'd inform anything in a staged production.
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Aug 10, 2016 12:09
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Buzkashi posted:Also the stage directions were needlessly overwrought for the sake of being read and often didn't seem like they'd inform anything in a staged production. Yeah the stage directions were absurd if I was presented a script with stage directions like that I would laugh the writer out the door. I'm general a fan of severely limiting directions to allow as much freedom to the director and the performers as possible, things like indicating beat pauses in the dialogue were completely unnecessary. I think perhaps as this was one big project from the get go, it was never somebody writing a play and then trying to get it staged that when they were commissioned to write this they were instructed to have the stage directions a bit like that and then the director would edit them when it came to staging. I wont be surprised if they are more conventional when we see the final script.
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Aug 10, 2016 15:29
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Buzkashi posted:It didn't feel like there was a real appreciation of the stakes, especially with the spontaneous reveal of another time device. Whoever the intended demographic was, it definitely read like a baby play for babies.
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Aug 12, 2016 22:13
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Gonna echo what others have said that as a production it depends greatly on the acting and tech because holy moly the plot doesn't have much to offer. I work for a very small-scale youth theater so the thought of actually being able to achieve the effects the script calls for is staggering to me. I liked the stage directions because I really loved JK Rowling's narration in the novels, and those few bits of italicized text were the closest we got to it. From an actor's perspective I could see it being both helpful and restrictive. Depends on the actor I guess.
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Aug 15, 2016 01:48
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That was very bad, but I'm glad that I read it, because it did make me laugh. I'm really irritated that they chose to make Snape's cameo him as a wisecracking hero. Snape's a bitter, goonish loser who can't get over the girl he unhealthily crushed on not liking him back. He's on the right side, but he's still an absolute fucker. The characters had no voice that I could tell, barring Scorpius, who was the only one whose dialogue actually made me laugh a few times. The rest of the laughs came from the ridiculous scenarios. I called Delphi as the bad guy the moment she showed up. I'm normally absolutely terrible at predicting these things, so when even I can spot them, you know it's bad.
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Aug 23, 2016 05:13
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I would describe Harry Potter and the Cursed Child as a load of bollocks. The time travel crap is a nice way for the writers to avoid having to write anything new, and the new ideas they actually do come up with are stupid as hell.
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Aug 26, 2016 01:54
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Rogue 7 posted:That was very bad, but I'm glad that I read it, because it did make me laugh. Also correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't Snape only leave the Death Eaters because of Lily dying sort of suggesting up until then he was in Voldemorts side and probably did some heinous poo poo.
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Aug 30, 2016 13:55
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My partner had the same view having read the script as is prevalent in this thread, however having just seen the play over the last two weeks, this translates amazingly to the stage. Scorpious is incredibly funny with the right actor, and the set is as much a part of the play as the characters - it's all changed in front of your eyes by characters and the on stage 'magic' harks back to stage magicians - the crowd openly gasped at the very first trick. Echo the thoughts above though - as an ex-stage manager for student productions this will be very hard to adapt. I'm not sure at all about the decision to release the script, especially so early. I'm hoping that it gets a good tour, or a lot of people are going to get a very jaundiced impression of the play.
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Oct 27, 2016 07:11
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Hello, it is my opinion that this story is bad. But I'm happy to know that a dimension where Voldemort won and everything is "fine" exists. It is totally cool to learn that the Cedric Diggory we were sold in the books (a largely humble but heroic, well-meaning and helpful guy) is in actuality an insecure mess who goes straight up wizard Nazi the moment he is denied something he felt he was entitled to. Totally 100% what the Ideal Hufflepuff would do. Also, nice to know that even under the management of the superhumanly competent Hermonie the Ministry of Magic is still a complete mess with absolutely no security to speak of that literal children can casually break into. 🖒 Oh and this story would be much better if they killed Harry, Hermonie and Ron offscreen and, upon revealing this fact to us, informed/reminded us that, in using the Time Turner in PoA to fix everything, they destroyed the timeline where everything was hosed and, as such, are personally responsible for the deaths of the people who existed in that timeline and the people who would have come into existence in that time line. Congratulations, these heroic characters you loved are technically monsters. Also my gimmick is to reference Chrono Cross in every thread about a media that features time travel that I happen to consume.  I returned Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and got my money back. I still play Chrono Cross every couple years so take my assessment of quality with this fact in mind. Jenner fucked around with this message at 05:52 on Nov 1, 2016 |
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Nov 1, 2016 05:49
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