“Cursed Child” Producer Talks how the Harry Potter Play Came to be

Mar 28, 2016

Posted by: Catherine

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, J.K. Rowling, News

Incredibly successful, Tony-award winning, Olivier-award winning Harry Potter and the Cursed Child producer, Sonia Friedman, sat down for an interview with BBC Radio 4’s Kirsty Lang. The two talked of how the Harry Potter sequel came to be–how an idea was developed into producing a play.

Though J.K. Rowling has played a large part in the writing and production of the Harry Potter sequel, Sonia Friedman and a fellow producer had the idea for a Harry Potter play, a new story, and brought it to Rowling’s attention. While working on the script for Fantastic Beasts, Jo turned down the offer to write the script for Cursed Child and handed over the reigns of her world to Jack Thorn.

Sonia Friedman was very clear in emphasizing that Jo has been incredibly instrumental, “very crucial,” “very involved in the story,” and apart of all aspects of the production process for Cursed Child. After Jo said “yes,” and her gave approval to explore the idea, she was introduced to John Tiffany who lead her to Jack Thorn.

 

 

Friedman also addressed her responsibility for casting, and the discussion around Noma Dumezweni playing Hermione. Dumezweni is an incredibly talented actress, and her performance in workshops won her the role of Hermione. When Friedman was asked if she was purposefully making a political statement about race with Dumezweni’s casting, she said no, “not in the casting of Hermione.”

Sonia Friedman goes on to talk about her other plays, the beginning of her career, and the difference between working on the London West End and on Broadway.

The entire interview (only 28 minutes long) can be heard here.





The Leaky Cauldron is not associated with J.K. Rowling, Warner Bros., or any of the individuals or companies associated with producing and publishing Harry Potter books and films.