HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD to Welcome New Cast Members

Joining the company are: Green Room Award-winner Natasha Herbet as Dolores Umbridge, Torres Strait-Islander, former professional rugby league player and Wagadagam man Michael Bani as Bane, NIDA and VCA graduate Aisha Aidara making her professional debut as Rose Granger-Weasely and Melbourne-based actor Ben Walter who will assume the role of Albus Potter.

Also joining the production are Gabriella Barbagallo, Luke Clayson, Axel Duffy, Katie-Jean Harding, Matt Holly, Abdul Muhaimin, Harrison Riley, Tom Russel and David Spencer.

New cast members are now in rehearsals, ahead of their first performacnes with the company on Wednesday 26 May 2021.

Continuing in their roles are Gareth Reeves as Harry Potter, Lucy Goleby as Ginny Potter, Paula Arundell as Hermione Granger, Michael Whalley as Ron Weasley, Tom Wren as Draco Malfoy, and Nyx Calder as Scorpius Malfoy.

The company of 42 performers is completed by Lucy Ansell, Alexander Artemov, Damien Avery, Jai Bacak, Bonnie Barlow, Mike Bishop, Clare Chihambakwe, Gillian Cosgriff, Hannah Fredericksen, Lyndall Grant, George Henare, Soren Jensen, Debra Lawrance, Monet Lewis, James O'Connell, David Ross Paterson, Naomi Rukavina, John Shearman, Liam Smith, Connor Sweeney, Archie Thomson, Jessica Vickers and Mackenzie Vokes.

The Australian production officially opened with a red carpet performance on Saturday 23 February, 2019. Melbourne was the third city worldwide to welcome Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, after London and New York. It will unequivocally not play any other city in Australia.

The production marked its first birthday on Sunday 1 March 2020, with a special gala performance at Melbourne's Princess Theatre. In its first year an estimated 326,500 people saw the show, well surpassing any previous record set by a stage play in the history of Australian theatre.

Based on an original new story by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is a new play by Jack Thorne, directed by John Tiffany. It is the eighth story in the Harry Potter series and the first official Harry Potter story to be presented on stage. Both parts of the play are intended to be seen in order on the same day (matinee and evening) or on two consecutive evenings.

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.

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.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is directed by John Tiffany with movement by Steven Hoggett, set by Christine Jones, costumes by Katrina Lindsay, music & arrangements by Imogen Heap, lighting by Neil Austin, sound by Gareth Fry, illusions & magic by Jamie Harrison and music supervision & arrangements by Martin Lowe. International Casting Consultant is Jim Carnahan (CSA) and Australian casting by Janine Snape (CGA). Executive Producer of the Australian production is Michael Cassel.

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