Discover how Harry Potter And the Cursed Child became the West End’s most magical hit

The wizardry and magic in And the Cursed Child are among the most closely guarded secrets in showbiz.

For starters there are the are scenes in which the grown-up Harry and his Hogwarts foe Draco do battle in a duel armed with wands – while flying of course.

There are others in which people disappear through portals into another dimension and in which the very fabric of the theatre that hosts the award-winning show appears to pulse every time the story vaults back in time.

Then there is the Polyjuice Potion which transforms children into adults.

‘I can’t tell you anything,’ says Jamie Harrison, whose job title – illusions and magic – could qualify him as a Hogwarts tutor.

Having recently put the magic into the touring stage version of Bedknobs And Broomsticks he is currently on a new show which is also very hush-hush.

But it is The Cursed Child which continues to set the standard against which all shows with magic are judged.

‘It’s the storytelling that is the key to making magic work in the minds of the audience,’ reveals Jamie. ‘Without that special effects are mere tricks. With a story it becomes something the evokes wonder. I honestly believe you can do anything on stage.’

Are there effects in the digital age that were never possible before?

‘There is some technology that is new. But most illusion is a result of creativity and applying techniques that have been used for centuries. What the Victorian illusionists were doing was manipulating objects and humans in space.

‘The principles and psychology of illusion haven’t changed – except for health and safety.’ To that end Jamie has made it his mission to make it impossible for anyone to catch fire in the show, despite the flames.

‘I’ve got to be careful what I divulge because I’m a magician,’ he says, keeping faith with the cardinal rule of his profession. Yet he is willing to give up one or two insights.

‘There is a spell called Incendio for which [Harry’s son] Albus takes his wand out of his pocket, waves it at the paper he is holding which then bursts into flames in his hands before vanishing.

The Victorians would have been able to do most if it, but the actor would have ended up with no hair and a lot of scars.

‘They would have needed a new Albus every night.’

Has anything gone wrong in Harry Potter? He can’t say, other than there were some ‘corkers’ at the beginning when the show was in preview – though it was ‘nothing that the audience noticed.’

‘But as a magician I did once accidentally fire someone’s engagement ring about fifty feet across a restaurant up against a brick wall. It was supposed to disappear into a little pouch on my back, but instead flew across the room. I had to run over and apologise.’

However, the answer to how most illusions are done is not found in the tech, insists Jamie, before disappearing (back to work).

‘The art of illusion is about making the subconscious understand one thing when actually what is happening is something else,’ he says.

So how are all your favourite illusions form the show made? Here are just a few…

Two go wizzing through the air

Jamie Parker as the first Harry is sent flying by Alex Price’s Draco in a duel of wands.

An unseen stunt team propel the actors through the air as the wizards – now both fathers – exchange insults and spells. ‘Keep up old man’ says Draco.

‘We’re the same age!’ protests Harry, though Draco has the last word with ‘I wear it better.’

The scene ends with Draco apologising to Harry’s wife Ginny for making a mess of the kitchen.

It is a very subtle line which reveals Draco to be not such a bad sort after all, and who is only looking out for his sensitive son, Scorpius, just like any good dad.

The Sorcerer’s Stairs

Rehearsals of the ‘Staircase Ballet’ which movingly – in both senses – conveys the friendship between Albus and Scorpius coming under strain.

The scene is well-named and sees the boys ascend and descend Hogwarts staircases as the stairs are revolved with pinpoint accuracy by the ensemble.

One of the most emotionally charged moments in the show, it depicts the boys’ friendship turning into solitude as they are kept apart by adults in authority.

Spells like team spirit

Don’t try this at home. Oh alright go on then, but you will need salamander blood (check the Use By date) and horn of bicorn, a part-panther, part-cow fantastic beast from the middle ages. And good luck.

Albus and Scorpius are here using the ingredients to hone their skills in this potion-making exercise. The show is brimful of spectacular spell casting. Want to know how it’s done? You’ll need to enrol at Hogwarts…

If the wing fits…

Robyn Gilder, who is one of six people in the show’s wig, hair and make-up team, provides the finishing touches to Luke Sumner’s blonde rug for his Scorpius, who casts only one spell in the show, Molliare.

The spell makes hard objects such as broomsticks more comfortable when you sit on them! (This is not to be confused though with the Spongify spell that makes stuff go rubbery).

Head turner

The Time Turner is the device, which Albus and Scorpius use to change the past and, unwittingly the future too.

When it is activated it causes the entire fabric of the building to wobble in what is undoubtedly one of the most spectacular effects seen in theatre.

Jamie Harrison, the show’s resident illusionist, remembers the time he first showed the Time Turner to J.K. Rowling. ‘I was really nervous about it because in the film and books, they’re beautiful little trinkets that come to life.

‘For the stage we wanted it to levitate (I can’t tell you how). We had asked the producers for a lot of money to make it and then when I was demonstrating it to J.K. Rowling I was actually trembling.’

All for wand and wand for all

‘Back stage it’s like an armoury of wands with everyone’s name on it, and it’s just really cool to see the label that says that is Ron’s wand,’ says show star Thomas Aldridge.

‘I love just standing there and looking at that.’

There are 45 wands used in each performance, some of which get broken mid-performance. The biggest culprit is Michelle Gayle, who plays Hermione.

‘I’ve gone through my share of wands,’ says Michelle.

‘They said to me, the next time I break my wand, I have to buy one from the wand shop in the foyer.’

Oops, maybe there’s a spell for that, to stop them from breaking…

It’s a wand-erful world

Movement director Steven Hoggett leads rehearsals of the wand dance, one of the scenes that would not be out of place if Harry Potter And the Cursed Child were a musical.

A scar is born

Jim Fish being transformed into Harry Potter complete with the famous scar that warns the wizard of Voldemort’s return every time it hurts.

The chamber of secrets

This is an owl’s eye view of the Palace Theatre’s stage during warm-up.

This is a vital part of the pre-show process with such a physical show so full of stunts – such as flying and sliding down chimney chutes.

Below is Gordon Millar loosening up ahead of his turn as part of the ensemble in the 45-strong cast. Since the show started in 2016 there have been over 1,000 performances.