Stars of Harry Potter And the Cursed Child on ‘terrifying responsibility’ of living up to magic for fans

‘Everyone loves the swishes,’ says Jim Fish with a sweep of his arm. If he were , which he is when he is on stage, Jim’s arm would have a cloak attached and there would be a loud whoosh as it swept through the air heralding awe-inspiring magic.

But showtime is a couple of hours away so we are sitting in a room somewhere at the back of ’s grand old Palace Theatre in Shaftesbury Avenue. This is the venue where Harry Potter And the Cursed Child – the stage instalment of J.K. Rowling’s rollicking stories – first opened in 2016 to unanimous critical acclaim followed by more awards than you can shake a wand at.

This is also where Jim stars as possibly the most popular fictional character ever created. Sitting with us among the theatre’s Victorian grandeur, including a fireplace down which wizards and witches could easily swoop [just as they do in the show], are Michelle Gayle and Thomas Aldridge, who play Harry’s best friends Hermione and Ron.

All three of the show’s stars are decidedly grown-up. This is because the story, co-written by Rowling, writer Jack Thorne and director John Tiffany, vaults us 19 years forward from where the books end – that is apart from the epilogue of the Deathly Hallows which gives us a hint of the world in which the play is set.

Here Harry, now in his late thirties, is both a reluctant celebrity and a pen pusher at the Ministry of Magic.

He works under the department’s minister, Hermione, who is now married to Ron. But the plot, which travels faster than an express train from platform 9 ¾ is triggered by Harry’s disaffected son Albus (Dominic Short), who has struck an unlikely friendship with Scorpius (Luke Sumner), son of Harry’s school enemy Draco Malfoy.

‘It’s a show about family and friendships,’ declares Thomas.

 ‘And relationships,’ adds Jim.

‘And growing up!’ interjects Michelle, for who the show is the latest chapter in a career that spans Grange Hill, EastEnders, being a Brit-nominated singer and writing novels and scripts including an episode of A Discovery Of Witches. 

‘It’s a classic rite of passage,’ continues Michelle, summing up The Cursed Child’s worldwide appeal.

For the books’ legions of fans, great care has been taken to make the stage version both familiar yet new. But perhaps the most unexpected outcome of this theatrical (and in all probability, final) episode of the Harry Potter stories is that it also serves as a way in to Rowling’s Wizarding World for those who have never read the books.

‘When my daughter first came to see it she hadn’t read any of them,’ says Thomas. ‘But now she is such a huge fan.’

I tell Thomas that my daughter had a similar experience. Ahead of this interview I took my eight-year-old daughter to see it as I hadn’t seen the production since it opened six years ago.

She has gone through book sets such as The Famous Five, Tracy Beaker, Malory Towers, Alex Rider and The Land Of Roar series as if they were butter. But not Harry Potter.

For some reason she never got past the first two chapters of The Philosopher’s Stone.

Yet since seeing The Cursed Child, any toy that emits light has been conscripted as a torch to be used secretly under the duvet after bedtime. It is as if the show gave her the magical power of knowing the futures of Harry, Hermione and Ron before they do.

It is a very different and poignant perspective from those who encounter the show after the books.

For Jim, Michelle and Thomas being cast in the stage production is like being made custodians of something incredibly precious.

‘It’s been totally magical the whole way through,’ says Jim, who knew he had been cast as Harry when he got an email from the producers saying, ‘Welcome to Hogwarts.’

‘You don’t ever take it for granted, the joy you see in the audience,’ he says. He is not only talking about the children.

‘There are a lot of people we meet who revisit the books in difficult times,’ says Thomas. ‘It’s their comfort blanket. It means so much to so many people, which is lovely but also terrifying for us because of the pressure and responsibility.’

The magic has to look both amazing and natural. ‘As actors we’re trained how to move and use our voice. But we’re not taught magic,’ says Michelle. ‘That’s the most challenging element of the show.’

Take the Polyjuice Potion scene in which the children transform into adults so they can sneak into the Ministry of Magic. The team led by Jamie Harrison (job title ‘Illusions and Magic’) drilled the cast ‘over and over and over and over,’ says Jim. ‘Every millimetre of every move has to be perfect,’ says Michelle.

What are their favourite moments of magic?

‘Going into the phone box; that’s the one for me,’ says Thomas. He is talking about the effect in which wizards and witches are sucked through a hole in a telephone box as if by a vacuum cleaner from another dimension. All this has to be seen, not described, to be believed.

Despite all the preparation, improvisation is sometimes needed. ‘I’ve broken quite a few wands,’ confesses Michelle.

‘Because if I don’t get rid of it at certain points it’s in my pocket and breaks because Hermione is doing so many things – like flying.’

On one occasion Michelle forgot to take her wand with her. She was stranded on a revolving stage about to face the audience with nothing to cast a spell with. In a sort of screaming whisper she directed the cry of ‘Throw me the wand!’ towards the wings and out of the gloom a wand flew through the air. In the slow-mo style of The Matrix, Michelle recreates the catch.

Thomas also once found himself on stage without his wand. ‘No one threw it to me,’ he says. ‘I had to use my finger,’ he adds as Michelle and Jim crack up.

The demands of the show don’t necessarily end when the show is over, says Thomas.

‘We have a little boy as well and they’re both so excited about what I do for living. It’s kind of a busman’s holiday because they’re constantly saying, “Let’s play Harry Potter,” so my son is Harry, my daughter is Hermione and I’m Ron Weasley again,’ says Thomas a little wearily.

And then with a huge grin he adds, ‘I’m very proud. They love it.’

Harry Potter And the Cursed Child is on now at the Palace Theatre, London,