Jumping the franchise shark many moons ago, Harry Potter And The Series That Keeps On Milking It will now be paid tribute in the form of a British stage production, because if a cash cow ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
News via carrier owls today report that JK Rowling is set to co-produce a Harry Potter play in Britain, focussing on the early life of HP, before he was cool, when he thought he was a muggle and in the days where his prophecy scar of infamy was yet to get to his head. With its plot centred on Harry’s days living in a cupboard under the stairs in a house helmed by an insufferable aunt and uncle, the stage play will undoubtedly include a welcome portrayal of Dudley Dursley – an oft overlooked character whose depth (as per the seventh book) hints at an ounce of humility beyond a facade of gluttony and greed.
“Over the years I have received countless approaches about turning Harry Potter into a theatrical production,” said JK Rowling, according to news.com.au. Whether that hesitation to dive into a dramatic staged prequel was well exercised is yet to be told; the foreboding downside of the new production, however, is that JK Rowling will not be scripting the play. Hm.
Starting production next year, Rowling will work with London producers Sonia Friedman and Colin Callendar. Rowling considered their approach the only one fitting for the adaptation to stage: “Sonia and Colin’s vision was the only one that really made sense to me, and which had the sensitivity, intensity and intimacy I thought appropriate for bringing Harry’s story to the stage.”
The play will join an impressive franchise of seven books, eight films and an amusement park; as well as recent additions such as the fully illustrated versions of the series, quaint postage stamps and a motion picture spin off. One more thing added to that list, and it may well be time to expecto patronum this franchise’s development forever.
Let’s see how this world unfolds on stage.
Via news.com.au
