Q&A with the cast of Harry Potter and The Cursed Child
Tom: Anytime an audience member is thrilled by the magic, and we can hear it on stage it makes me feel so warm. It reminds me just how surreal the magic and illusions are in the show. One time I was standing in the wings watching a scene with the magic time turner, there is a beat of pure silence after it has been used, and from the front row in amongst the silence a little boy yelled: “HOW DO THEY DO THAT?”. The entire auditorium laughed, and we all laughed backstage, he was just echoing what the entire theatre was thinking. That was very special.
April: The most surreal moment I’ve had in this process is getting my robes fitted. As a kid, I would dream about going to Diagon Alley and getting my Hogwarts robes.
Grace: The most surreal moment I have experienced so far is not just one occurrence as it happens every day, it has to be the backstage magic. The stage management and crew do such a fantastic job behind the scenes. If you’re standing in the right place at the right time, you can see some amazing things happening! In one particular scene, you have massive fans ascending to the flys, crash mats being moved about, large heavy bits of set moving in and out of the wings as dancers prepare to go on stage, whilst the loud music plays and the revolve moves…and it’s all done in the darkness! Backstage is just as magical and surreal to me as on stage!
Tom: Harry. Although I’m not old enough. The depth of his journey as a father throughout this play is very intricate. How do you navigate between being a good dad to Albus and the pressure of protecting the wizarding world? What is it to be a dad when you’ve never had a Dad? As Harry says, he has nothing to base himself on when it comes to being a good parent. I’d imagine it’s very juicy for an actor to sink their teeth into. Plus, he gets to spell a lot, I’d love to spell as much as he does. P.S. Don’t worry Sam (Crane) I’m not coming for your job, and to my lovely Girlfriend, this is just acting, I have no intention of being a father yet!
April: I would love to play Draco Malfoy. I would love to pull off that wicked dry sense of humour…. and the ponytail.
Grace: I would play the character Scorpius. He has an amazing emotional journey in the show which is great to follow as an audience member. He has some fantastic lines in the show too! I had a dream once that I was playing Hermione, who plays my character's mother in the play. It was terrifying and exciting, as I didn’t have the correct shoes on and the clothes didn’t fit, which was a nightmare trying to get around the stage!
Tom: Don John from Much Ado About Nothing. He and Yann would enjoy a lovely gossiping dinner spilling all the tea. Not literally spilling a cup of tea at the dinner table, the tea as in the gossip.
April: I think Myrtle and Olaf from Frozen would have a very fun dinner party…
Grace: I would say that Rose Granger-Weasley would love to have dinner with Summer from School of Rock. She shares some of the qualities that Rose has as she’s confident and likes to be at the heart of everything going on. I think they’re quite like-minded, so they could plan something epic together!
Tom: Mother’s Day. My mam loves spring and National trust walks, all these together make me feel springy. Especially this year, being so far from home in London, I really miss my Mam.
April: Easter eggs in the aisles.
Grace: At the Palace Theatre we have themed warm-ups every now and again, and I’m sure that sooner or later we will have an Easter-themed one, where we will dress up and warm up to fun songs, which lets us know it’s getting warmer and that summer is on its way!
Tom: Garden centre. I proper love a garden centre.
April: Beer gardens with friends!
Grace: I like to go on walks as it gets warmer around different parks or quiet streets where I can read my book and grab a hot drink.
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