J.K. Rowling Discusses the “Daunting” Task of Creating “Cursed Child”

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is a bit of a touchy subject in the Potterverse. Fans everywhere are either very hot or very cold on the subject, and some say that they aren’t fans of the book, but when they saw the play performed, it changed their view. But whether you love it or hate it, you cannot deny the immense success the play has had, winning about 40 different awards, including several Laurence Olivier and Tony Awards, since its premiere in 2016. The play has also added performances in New York and San Francisco in the United States, Melbourne, Australia, and Hamburg, Germany.

Now, fans are getting an inside look into how Cursed Child came to be in a new video featuring Jack Thorne, John Tiffany, and J.K. Rowling.

In the video, the trio discusses how they met and reminisces on the huge task they had before them when creating Cursed Child. John Tiffany expressed he was hesitant when initially approached about the project.

I thought long and hard about it because it’s the most successful literary franchise of all time, with good reason. And the fans cleave to these characters and this world almost with their soul.

J.K. Rowling added that the process was daunting for her as well, adding that “the stakes were really high” and that she “had always been quite resistant“ to putting her stories on the stage. She believed that the idea had to be “very special and unusual“ for her to agree to the story. She expressed her fondness for Thorne and Tiffany and said that the people you work with really help tie it all together.

But if there’s one thing I’ve learned in life, it is all about the people you work with. […] I didn’t commit and decide until I knew who[m] I would be working with. […] It’s been the most amazing collaboration. I’ve loved it.

Tiffany revealed that the ties between himself and Rowling went far back to when Rowling was writing Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone at the Traverse Theatre, where Tiffany had just gotten a job. While Rowling didn’t initially remember the link, she says that when Tiffany mentioned the Traverse Theatre, she felt that it was “predestined.”

When it came down to choosing a partner to embark on the Cursed Child journey with, Tiffany said that he already had Jack Thorne in mind. When Tiffany mentioned that he had a new project, it took Thorne a moment to realize he was asking him to join.

I thought he was telling me that as a friend and I was going, ‘That’s amazing. That’d be brilliant!’ and ‘That’s wonderful’ and ‘That’s really exciting for you!’ And then he said, ‘Do you fancy it?’ and I mean, I literally fell off the pavement.

Thorne was not about to hesitate at the opportunity like Tiffany did, however. He says he just walked right in “like a ridiculous fireman that’s poorly dressed and just hoped it would all be okay.” 

If the success of the book and the play says anything, it’s that it sure did end up okay.

Have you seen Cursed Child yet? Has seeing the performance changed your view on the story? Let us know in the comments below!