And Also

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child opened in London last week to mixed reviews by British theatre critics. Cultural website The Ringer panned it: “It’s cheesy and clumsy; future generations of unlucky actors will have to deliver the line ‘My geekness is a-quivering’ with a semi-straight face”. The Telegraph gave it five stars, calling it “a magical show with a strong emotional core”. The Guardian said: “Emo­­­tional punch, rich suspense and dazzling effects make for all-round magic in the latest twist in Harry Potter’s tale”, but The Atlantic called it “Harry Pot­ter and the Curse of Con­tiuation”. Variety gave it a thumbs-up: “A captivating story given a spectacular staging....”. Twenty years ago, Harry Potter turned a generation onto reading. The Cursed Child could do the same for theatre, it said. Vanity Fair sums up: “It picks up where The Deathly Hallows left off, telling an engrossing story about Harry’s son, Albus, and his friendship with Draco Mal­foy’s son, Scorpius.... It also dwells on Harry’s life as a fat­her, struggling with the eff­ects of his parentless chil­­dhood....” The script is rel­eased in book form and is ava­­ilable in Indian bookstores.