Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - principal casting announced
Casting news
JAMIE Parker, Noma Dumezweni and Paul Thornley will lead the cast as Harry, Hermione and Ron in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, which opens at the Palace Theatre on July 30, 2016, following preview performances from June 7.
J.K. Rowling said: “I’m so excited with the choice of casting for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. I can’t wait to see Jamie, Noma and Paul bring the adult Harry, Hermione and Ron to life on stage next summer.”
Jamie Parker is currently playing Sky Masterson in Guys and Dolls at the Savoy Theatre, a role he previously performed at Chichester Festival Theatre where he has also been seen in Drama, Holes in the Skin, Seagulls, The Coffee House, The Commuter and The Gondoliers.
His other theatre credits include High Society (Old Vic), Assassins and Proof (Menier Chocolate Factory), Candida (Theatre Royal Bath), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (West Yorkshire Playhouse), Henry V, Henry IV Parts One and Two, A New World and As You Like It (Shakespeare’s Globe), King James Bible, The Revenger’s Tragedy and The History Boys (National Theatre, the latter also on Broadway), Racing Demon (Sheffield Crucible), Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (Theatre Royal Haymarket/Chichester Festival Theatre) and Between the Crosses (Jermyn Street Theatre).
His screen credits include The Lady in the Van, Le Weekend, Valkyrie, The History Boys and Lawless (film); Count Arthur Strong, Parade’s End, Silk, The Hour, Burn Up, Horne and Corden, Imagine Van Gogh, Silent Witness, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, Maxwell, As If, Wire in the Blood and Foyle’s War (TV).
Noma Dumezweni is currently playing the title role in Linda at the Royal Court Theatre for which she received outstanding reviews. And in February, she will make her directing debut at the venue with I See You by Mongiwekhaya.
Her other theatre credits include A Raisin In The Sun (Young Vic at the Lyric Hammersmith), for which she received the Olivier Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role, Feast and Belong (Royal Court), A Human Being Died That Night (Hampstead Theatre), Carmen Disruption (Almeida Theatre), ‘Tis Pity She’s A Whore (Shakespeare’s Globe), Henry V (Noël Coward Theatre) and President of an Empty Room and The Hour We Knew Nothing of Each Other (National Theatre).
Her screen credits include The Incident, Dirty Pretty Things and Macbeth (film); Casualty, Capital, Frankie, Dr Who, Summerhill, EastEnders and Fallout (TV).
Paul Thornley played the role of Dodge in London Road at the National Theatre before going on to play the same character in the film version, both directed by Rufus Norris.
His other theatre credits include A Chorus of Disapproval (Harold Pinter Theatre), The Three Musketeers (Kingston Theatre), The Miracle (National Theatre), Private Fears in Public Places (Stephen Joseph Theatre/Orange Tree Theatre/59E59 Theaters, New York), Noises Off (National Theatre/Piccadilly Theatre/Comedy Theatre), Spend, Spend, Spend (West Yorkshire Playhouse/Piccadilly Theatre) and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, All’s Well That Ends Well, The Tempest and Kiss Me Kate (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre).
His screen credits include three series of Life Begins (opposite Caroline Quentin), Father Brown, Doc Martin, Just William, Mutual Friends, Trollied, Big Bad World and Above Suspicion (TV); Man Up, Metamorphosis, The Somnambulists, Les Miserables, Camera Trap and, most recently, Grimsby, the new Sacha Baron Cohen film (big screen).
Thornley is currently filming The Crown for Netflix and will also appear in the as yet untitled forthcoming James Marsh film.
Directed by John Tiffany, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is a new play by Jack Thorne based on an original new story by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany. It is presented in two parts. Both parts are intended to be seen in order on the same day (matinee and evening), or on two consecutive evenings.
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child – 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.
Read more about Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.