Reading The Cursed Child as it was Intended

Last updated on 29 August 2017

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“Perfection is beyond the reach of humankind, beyond the reach of magic. In every shining moment of happiness is that drop of poison: the knowledge that pain will come again. Be honest to those you love, show your pain. To suffer is as human as to breathe.” – Dumbledore

 

You may be sick of hearing about it by now (please don’t be), but you have to admit that The Cursed Child has taken the geeky world by storm. Last Monday we took a look at the book for the first time, and I mentioned that about 12 of my friends and I got together and had a play reading. Everyone had a part or two (or three or four, if they were minor characters), and I read the stage directions.

We went all out – with decorations, with the food and drinks, I even made everyone wands and we wielded them when necessary (and at all other times too). Today I’m sharing my getting-the-books story, and also what it was like reading the play aloud.

Getting the Book/s

Here in New Zealand, the book was being released at 11.01am on Sunday the 31st, like the rest of the world (bar the time difference). I rocked on up to the Warehouse just after 10am, expecting to be joining a queue of like minded people, have some chats with strangers, talk about how much Hogwarts memorabilia and costumes we were wearing, and generally get our geek on.

That was, however, not the case.

I walked in, didn’t see any notices or posters in the entrance. ‘Okay’, I thought. ‘I’ll head down to the book section and maybe they’ll sell it from there.’ Walked down to the book section (a place I know rather well), and … nothing. I did a lap of the store, and then headed to the Customer Service desk, where I asked what the story was, and the lady told me that yes, the books would be coming out and they should be being displayed in the book section.

So back to the book section I go. And still nothing.

I hovered around, picking up books, not really reading their back covers, flicking through DVDs and not paying attention, pretending to browse the CD selection, all while having one, if not both, eyes in the direction of the book desk. Finally, they started bringing out bits of cardboard and trying to cobble together a display of some kind. This was 10.50am.

Basically, Warehouse, you were sucky at getting the hype up, and while you’re my go-to place for books, this was super disappointing.

Finally, at 11.02, they bought the books out and started unpacking them onto the table that they had grabbed. The staff lady looked at me and said ‘Do you want one from the box?’ and even though it would have been cooler to get one from a pretty table full of books and Cursed Child posters, I was in a rush. I wanted that book. I took the one she gave me and hugged it tightly.

“Thank you,” I said. “And now I need 11 more, please.”

She piled them high in my outstretched arms, my friends. Piled.Them.High.

I left the store, catching my friend, C, on the way out and awkwardly held the box they had given us to put all the books in.

While my line-up-with-other-geeks-and-get-excited dreams didn’t come to fruition, I did have a moment with another girl who was there, ready and waiting. For the majority of the morning it was just her and I (she even helped out with their lack-of-display). As soon as the box lid opened and we saw those glorious golden books, we caught each other’s eye and had a little squee moment. I didn’t know this Hufflepuff-getup-clad girl, she didn’t know me. But we shared an exciting moment in time, and that’s one of the things I love about fandoms.

You can be strangers in a room who never see each other again, and yet you know that in that short amount of time, you could be the best of friends.

Reading the Book

Reading The Cursed Child as the play it was/is intended to be was way better than just simply reading it. We gathered, about 12 of us, and we gave out parts to people. If they didn’t have a main role, then they were several minor characters.

While most people would probably want to be a character, I volunteered to be the reader of the stage directions and the settings. While it meant I didn’t get to wave a wand around or shout at people, I felt like the story teller, like the one setting the scene, the one filling out the blanks and helping people imagine what they were doing, and what they would be looking at, had we been at the actual play.

It was exciting to be the one who calmed everyone down at the beginning, and be the one to say “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Based on an original new story by J.K.Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany. A new play by Jack Throne. Act One. Scene One”. It was awesome being able to read the directions. It also meant that I had a reasonably large role, even if it wasn’t a character role.

I was unsure at the beginning, before we started, how the stage directions were going to go, how it was going to read, given that we couldn’t see it played out in front of us. But thankfully, having grown up with books and imaginary worlds all our lives, it was easy to visualise what was going on. And it definitely helped everyone had a part, and that we read those stage directions aloud, as a part of the story.

Verdict for Reading as a Play

If you haven’t read it yet, and you have enough friends you can gather (you can probably get away with about 5 or 6 and everyone having a main part and then divvying up the minor roles) then I highly suggest reading it as a play, rather than just straight reading it. It’s way more intense and people really get into character. And you know you’ve always wanted to be the Trolley Witch and say ‘anything from the trolley?’ in her hilarious voice. (It’s a phrase that I say on a weekly basis, or if the word ‘trolley’ comes up in conversation. Or even the Hogwarts Express. Or just if someone offers me food.)

If you’re lacking in Harry Potter Enthusiast friends, then of course you can read it like a book. That’s why the printed it for us – so we didn’t have to travel all the way to London to be a part of the magical happenings. It is, after all, a story. If you want to read in one sitting, allow a few hours if you read at a reasonable speed. Because it’s a script, the blank spaces are immense in the book, and there are extra pages for things like Intermission and Part 2 etc, it’s not a long book at all. Make sure you do read the stage directions, as it can be a bit harder to picture what’s going on without them.

Have you read The Cursed Child yet? Did you read it as a play, or as a novel?