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Updated
Read Time
8 min read
Our age bandAges 10+ · Middle grade
Reader rating
4.3 · 110,332 Amazon ratings, as of Nov 2026
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Our review
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts One and Two: The Official Playscript
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by Rowling, Thorne & Tiffany Review: An Award-Winning Return to the Wizarding World
by J. K. Rowling, Jack Thorne, John Tiffany
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is the official playscript of the original West End production, based on an original story by J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany, and Jack Thorne, with the play written by Thorne — following Albus Severus Potter as he struggles under the weight of his father's legendary name. It earned an unprecedented nine Laurence Olivier Awards and six Tony Awards, including Best Play, cementing its place as a theatrical landmark whose printed script brings that story to the page.
LuvemBooks Verdict
Best for
Readers seeking the only canonical continuation of the Wizarding World who can engage with dramatic script format and stage directions as a literary experience.
Worth it if
Worth reading if you want to experience the full canonical story of Albus Severus Potter and his fractured relationship with Harry from the official West End production.
Skip if
Skip it if you expect novelistic prose and immersive third-person narration, as the celebrated stagecraft exists only as written direction on the page.
What readers & critics say
The production achieved an unprecedented nine Olivier Awards and six Tony Awards, while the playscript became an immediate global bestseller alongside rapturous critical reviews. Fan reception, however, remains notably polarized compared to the critical acclaim.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org, scholastic.ca4.3from 110,332 Amazon ratings, as of Nov 2026— reader ratings, not a LuvemBooks score
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Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is the official playscript of the landmark two-part stage production, following Albus Severus Potter's struggle to forge his own identity in the shadow of his father's legendary name — nineteen years after the events of Deathly Hallows. The production earned an unprecedented nine Laurence Olivier Awards and six Tony Awards including Best Play, cementing the story's status as an author-sanctioned canonical extension of the Wizarding World. Devoted novel readers should note that the script format places the celebrated stagecraft on the page as written direction rather than lived spectacle, and that fan reception of the story itself was more polarized than the overwhelmingly positive critical response to the stage production.
- Is it worth reading?
- For readers who cannot attend a live production — or who want to engage with the only full canonical account of Albus Severus Potter — the playscript is the sole way to experience this story in print. The production's credentials are exceptional: nine Olivier Awards including Best New Play and six Tony Awards including Best Play represent the most decorated theatrical achievement in the property's history. The key caveat is the gap between the overwhelmingly positive critical reception of the stage production and the more polarized fan community response to the story itself, which readers of the original novels should weigh before picking it up.
- Similar books
- Readers who enjoy the Wizarding World's expansion into new formats and voices may also appreciate Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Original Screenplay by J.K. Rowling, another script-format entry into the official Wizarding World canon. For fantasy with rich world-building and a beloved magic system, The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss offers immersive, novelistic depth. Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman blends wit and fantasy in a way that appeals to readers who enjoy ensemble character dynamics and an irreverent take on established mythology. Erin Morgenstern's The Night Circus shares the theatrical, wonder-drenched atmosphere of Cursed Child's stage spectacle translated to prose, while Rainbow Rowell's Carry On offers a knowing, affectionate take on the boarding-school magic-school tradition that Hogwarts helped define.
- Who should read this?
- The playscript is essential reading for Harry Potter fans who want to engage with the only full canonical account of Albus Severus Potter and his complicated relationship with Harry — whether or not they can attend a live production. It is also well-suited to theatre enthusiasts curious about the text behind one of the most awarded productions in West End and Broadway history. Readers who approach it as a playscript rather than a novel — and who are open to a story shaped by Jack Thorne's theatrical voice as well as Rowling's world — will find the most rewarding experience.
- What age is it for?
- Best for ages 10 and up — the same broad readership as the later Harry Potter novels. The story deals with themes of parental disappointment, fractured family relationships, and the weight of inherited legacy, which are best appreciated by confident middle-grade readers and older. The script format also requires a reader comfortable with dramatic dialogue and stage directions rather than traditional prose narrative.
- Should I see the play or read the script?
- Seeing the live production offers the illusions, physical stagecraft, and choreography of magic that critics overwhelmingly praised — elements that exist on the page only as written stage directions. For readers outside a production city, or those who cannot attend a performance, the playscript is the only way to engage with the full story. The two experiences are genuinely distinct: the script is a narrative artifact and a record of a theatrical landmark, while the live show is what earned the nine Olivier Awards and six Tony Awards.
- What awards did it win?
- The original West End production at the Palace Theatre received eleven Laurence Olivier Award nominations and won nine — including Best New Play — a tally Wikipedia describes as unprecedented to this day. The Broadway production at the Lyric Theatre earned ten Tony nominations and won six, including Best Play. The worldwide productions have collectively sold over six million tickets, and the printed playscript became an immediate global bestseller upon its release alongside the West End opening in summer 2016.
Summarize this book
Is it worth reading?
Who should read this?
What age is it for?
Should I see the play or read the script?
What awards did it win?
Summarize this book
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is the official playscript of the original West End production, set nineteen years after Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The story centers on Albus Severus Potter — Harry's second son — who is sorted into Slytherin rather than Gryffindor and grows increasingly resentful of his father's mythic legacy, driving a fractured father-son conflict across both parts. The script was written by Jack Thorne from an original story by J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany, and Thorne, and Rowling has stated it should be considered official Wizarding World canon.
Follow up
What happens to Albus at Hogwarts?
Is it written as a novel or a script?
Is this an official continuation of the Harry Potter series?
Synthesized from verified book data & published reviews · How we review
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Our Review
This review covers the playscript's content and published critical reception — not hands-on use of the text.
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts One and Two: The Official Playscript of the Original West End Production by J. K. Rowling, Jack Thorne, John Tiffany front cover
What the Story Is and Who It Follows
Set nineteen years after the events of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the story centers not on Harry himself but on his second son, Albus Severus Potter. Harry is now an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic — Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement — juggling a career, a marriage, and three school-age children.
When Albus arrives at Hogwarts expecting to be sorted into Gryffindor, he is placed in Slytherin, a rupture that sets the emotional engine of the whole narrative in motion. Unable to live up to his father's mythic legacy, Albus grows resentful of Harry, and that fractured father-son relationship drives the conflict of both parts.
The story markets itself as "the eighth story, nineteen years later," positioning this playscript as a direct continuation of Rowling's original sequence.
Theatrical Significance and Award Record
Few theatrical productions tied to literary properties have matched the institutional recognition this one received. According to Wikipedia's documented reception summary, the original West End production — which premiered at the Palace Theatre on 7 June 2016 — received eleven Laurence Olivier Award nominations and won nine, including Best New Play, a tally Wikipedia describes as unprecedented to this day.
The Broadway production that followed at the Lyric Theatre in April 2018 earned ten Tony nominations and won six, including Best Play. Productions have since opened in Melbourne, San Francisco, Hamburg, Toronto, and Tokyo, and a North American Tour launched in Chicago in September 2024.
Across all productions worldwide, over six million tickets have been sold. The printed playscript itself, first released as a "special rehearsal edition" alongside the West End opening in summer 2016, became an immediate global bestseller, according to Barnes & Noble's product documentation.
Critical Reception Versus Fan Reception
The gap between professional critical response and fan community reaction is one of the most documented aspects of this title's legacy. Wikipedia's reception summary notes that critics largely praised the stage production for its performances, story, illusions, and stage wizardry.
Fan reception of the story, however, was more polarized — particularly among devoted readers of the original novels. One specific point of controversy, noted in the Wikipedia record, concerns the portrayal of the friendship between Albus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy, which some readers criticized as an example of queerbaiting.
Director John Tiffany is on record as stating his belief that directly addressing the characters' sexualities would not have been appropriate for the production. These tensions between theatrical triumph and fandom skepticism are worth weighing when considering the playscript as a reading experience distinct from the stage spectacle.
The Playscript as a Reading Format
This edition is the official playscript of the original West End production — meaning readers encounter the story in dramatic script format: stage directions, dialogue, and scene headings rather than novelistic prose. Much of what critics celebrated in the live production — the illusions, the physical stagecraft, the choreography of magic — exists on the page only as written direction.
Readers coming to the text expecting the immersive third-person narration of Rowling's novels will find a structurally different experience. The story was originally staged as a two-part production, designed to be seen either across two evenings or as a single-day double bill; in June 2021 it was condensed into a single 3½-hour show for subsequent Broadway performances.
The playscript preserves the original two-part architecture.
Who This Is For
The playscript is the only way for readers outside a production city — or those who cannot attend a live performance — to engage with the story in full. For that audience, it serves as both a narrative artifact and a record of a landmark theatrical event.
Readers with a deep attachment to the novel series may find the shift to script format and the new creative authorship (the script itself was written by Jack Thorne, not Rowling alone) an adjustment worth anticipating. Those drawn to theatre, or to the Wizarding World's expansion beyond the original seven books, will find a story that earned its accolades on the world's most competitive stages.
Rowling has stated that the play should be considered canon, which gives the playscript added weight for readers invested in the continuity of the broader fictional universe.
Sources & Further Reading
The key facts and claims in this review are grounded in the retrieved, verified sources listed below.
- Cited in this review
- 1
- 2
en.wikipedia.org
- 3
- 4
- Further reading
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
thebooksmugglers.com
- 9
Age & Reading Level
Our age band
Ages 10+
Reading level
Middle grade
Amazon listing
Ages 10+ (set by customers) · Grade 5–6
Our age band groups books for browsing; it isn't an age a review gave.
who it suits
Best for: Ages 10+ — thematic complexity around parental legacy, identity, and fractured family relationships, plus a dramatic script format, suits confident middle-grade readers and older
Skip if you're expecting novelistic prose and the immersive narration style of the original Harry Potter novels, or if you're a devoted fan who wants the story to feel fully consistent with the original seven books
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