Book your flights to London now, collegiettes—we finally have the first details about the mysterious new Harry Potter play we heard about a few months back. Based on an original story by J.K. Rowling herself, the play is set to open in London’s West End in summer 2016 and is the eighth installment of the Harry Potter saga (not a prequel!).
New artwork promoting the play has just been released, showing a small child sitting in a bird’s nest, whom many speculate is Harry’s youngest son, Albus—who is apparently the Cursed Child. The show’s official website has offered this synopsis:
“It was always difficult being Harry Potter and it isn’t much easier now that he is an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband and father of three school-age children. While Harry grapples with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs, his youngest son Albus must struggle with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted. As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn the uncomfortable truth: sometimes, darkness comes from unexpected places.”
Previews will begin in June of next year (PSA: tickets go on sale to the general public October 30!). Although casting has not yet been announced, Imogen Heap is doing the show’s music, and it has been reported that Rowling has been heavily involved throughout the whole process. The play will be presented in two parts, and it is recommended that audiences see them on the same day or on two consecutive nights.
We can barely contain our excitement about this—this play either needs a Broadway transfer right away, or we have to figure out how to apparate to London ay-sap!