Tuesday 9 April 2013

Harry Potter in a pot!

All seven Harry Potter books in one show?
All seven Harry Potter books in just 70 minutes?
It's not possible surely?
Well, actually it is because I saw the very thing just last night. My son and I went to the Garrick Theatre in the West End to watch Potted Potter and neither of us expected to enjoy it quite as much as we did. 

The whole show contains just two actors - Daniel Clarkson and Jefferson Turner and a handful of props and silly hats. During the anarchic and extremely funny hour and ten minutes they weave in the Harry Potter stories with jokes, games, rants, dressing up, cuddly toys, more jokes, silliness, parody, fighting, dancing, even more jokes, audience participation, madness, mistakes, wigs, accents, sarcasm and song!

It was a true Tour de Force, the two actors were amazing at improvising and managed to enchant both children and adults with their non stop madness. I can't remember laughing so much at another show before and it was made even more enjoyable because I shared the whole thing with my son. He loved the whole madcap nature of the show and nearly fell off his seat several times he was laughing so hard!

Highlights included the interactive Quidditch game, the magic duel between Harry and Voldemort and the remarkable duet of "I will survive" which included the line - "as long as I have seven souls I know I'll stay alive!" but to be honest there is not a dull moment in the whole thing.

Out of all my Harry Potter experiences ( I've also been to the theme park in Florida and the UK Studio Tour) I have to say this one was actually my favourite. (Florida was amazing but with the queues and the crowds it was hard work too!)
 I think that's because the show felt as if real affection and fun had been used to create it rather than being just a moneymaking experience designed by marketing types. I really do recommend it whether you're a Potter fan or not, take your kids or go on your own, it's a super feel good show and might just remind you why you loved Harry in the first place!


2 comments:

  1. Oh wow, hadn't heard about this. Think my daughter would love it. We visited the Warner Bros Tour last week as a treat and really enjoyed it. Will check this show out if it is still on when we are next up that way!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm sure you and your daughter will love it if you get the chance to see it Suzanne! Lx

      Delete