Fans who miss reading Harry Potter books have some good news headed their way: the script for the stage play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Parts I & II will be available in bookstores July 31. The book version of the script will premiere the same day as the play’s premiere at the Palace Theatre.
“Print and digital editions will publish simultaneously after the play’s world premiere this summer, and will comprise of the version of the play script at the time of the play’s preview performances,” revealed Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling on Pottermore.
While this book is technically not the 8th book in the series, it is the 8th original Harry Potter story published in book form. The script for the play has been written by Jack Thorne, John Tiffany and Rowling.
The upcoming play will pick up where readers left off in the epilogue of the original Harry Potter series.
“Readers and moviegoers last saw Harry waving off his children at Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, 19 years after the Battle of Hogwarts, in the epilogue to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child picks up after that moment,” said Rowling on Pottermore .
The play will feature Jamie Parker as Harry Potter, Paul Thornley as Ron Weasley and Noma Dumezweni as Hermoine Granger. The story will follow Harry’s three children, with an emphasis on Albus. There are two separate parts of the play "due to the epic nature of the story," says Rowling .
"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," reads the summary. "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."
