Review: PUFFS OR SEVEN INCREASINGLY EVENTFUL YEARS AT A CERTAIN SCHOOL OF MAGIC AND MAGIC Is A Hilarious Parody For Fans Of The Famous Magic Franchise.

Sunday 26th May 2019, 5:30pm, Entertainment Quarter Moore Park

A perfect parody of the famous wizarding stories, PUFFS OR SEVEN INCREASINGLY EVENTFUL YEARS AT A CERTAIN SCHOOL OF MAGIC AND MAGIC is a must see for any fans of the Harry Potter world. First presented Off-Off-Broadway, this hilarious work written by Matt Cox considers the story from the point of view of the least talented house of misfits.

Following the same overall plot line as the popular books and the resulting movies, PUFFS OR SEVEN INCREASINGLY EVENTFUL YEARS AT A CERTAIN SCHOOL OF MAGIC AND MAGIC considers how other students see the story, particularly those that didn't fit into the specialized houses of Brave, Smart and Snake. Echoing the golden trio, comic superhero loving orphan Wayne Hopkins (Ryan Hawke) discovers he has a place at a magic school on the other side of the world from his Uncle's Queensland home. He befriends mathematics prodigy Oliver Rivers (Adam Marks), another first year who had no idea of his magical traits. The third of their group is the talented but rebellious goth Megan Jones (Angelina Thomson), who idolizes her mother, one of the Dark Lord's "Death Buddies", and refuses to believe that she really is a Puff. They are joined by other misfit Puffs, like exuberant and ditzy Leanne (Lauren McKenna), perpetually fearful Susie (Olivia Charalambous) and of course, the Puff's only character to make a significant mark on in the main series, the house heart throb that they all idolize, Cedric (James Bryers). As with Helga Hufflepuff's promise to take all of the students that Salazar, Godric and Rowena wouldn't take, the Puff's usually place last in the House Cup so they have the odd ambition of "Third Or Nothing" but their 7 years at school will be oddly affected by the events of the main story, much of which they are never really made privy to the details, just subjected to the fallout from the Golden trio.

Adapted for Australian audiences, this is a heartwarming exploration of an underappreciated house of hardworking, patient, and loyal students. Narrated by Gareth Isaac, the two-hour 25-minute performance (including interval) condenses the seven books whilst also avoiding direct references that could have caused licensing issues. Cox cleverly highlights the flaws in the books and the movies and neatly skirts around the Potter/Gryffindor centric storyline that everyone knows by not even presenting Ron and Hermione as real people. Professors are presented with enough recognizable traits to not require names to be used and events easily tie together for well versed fans.

Set, Costume and Prop design plays a large part of heightening the humor of the work and Madeleine Bundy has created a fabulous homemade aesthetic for the events to play out. A collection of doors and unexplained spaces between walls allows for classic comic tropes whilst a rear sliding wall provides a more mysterious element as it reveals things like the Rorrimdriew (read it backwards) and the various monsters that feature. A simplicity in costuming enables the ensemble of Daniel Cosgrove, Kimie Tsukakoshi, Annabelle Tudor, Matt Whitty and McKenna, Bryers, Charalambous to take on different characters with the ease of a simple addition of a costume element. Whilst they all have an individual style, there is an overall feel of mismatched op-shop hand-me downs as potentially the less affluent house. Megan remains in gothic skintight black; Oliver has a nerdy pocket protector in his button-down shirt; and Wayne wears a series of superhero t 'shirts modified for his magic allegiance in the style of a stouter Sheldon Cooper. The monsters are presented to hilarious effect with fabulous use of a plush onesie and oversized puppetry.

Whilst another of the magical franchise is playing south of the border, PUFFS OR SEVEN INCREASINGLY EVENTFUL YEARS AT A CERTAIN SCHOOL OF MAGIC AND MAGIC is a brilliant opportunity for magic fans in Sydney to continue their connection to the famous school whilst also seeing a different side of the story. It is a fabulous fun filled chance to realize that the underdogs, or is that under-badgers, are wonderful people that should also be celebrated even if they are destined to only ever be the hero of their own story.

http://www.puffstheplay.com/australia#page-header

Photos: Kurt Sneddon

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