What happens when a group of actors step into the shoes of some of your favourite fictional childhood characters, now all grown up and with kids of their own? I sat down with three cast members of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child at the historic Palace Theatre: David Ricardo-Pearce (Harry Potter), Thomas Aldridge (Ron Weasley), and Claire Lams (Ginny Potter) to find out how the story continues on stage.
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is a play written by Jack Thorne and John Tiffany, based on the original story by J.K. Rowling. The two-part production, currently running at London’s Palace Theatre, picks up where Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows left off - set 19 years after the defeat of Lord Voldemort.
The story follows the lives of Harry, Ron, and Hermione after the battle against the Dark Lord. Now, as parents, they’re grappling with a new generation of witches and wizards, their children, and the challenges of life at Hogwarts, all while facing the threat of dark forces returning.
Produced by ATG Entertainment, Colin Callender, and Playground Entertainment, the play has been a staple of the West End since July 2016.
Meet the cast
Before our conversation, here's a look at the actors bringing these adored Wizarding World characters to life.
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David Ricardo-Pearce
Playing Harry Potter since October 2023, David is also known for The Motive and the Cue, Saint Joan, The Lorax, Sweeney Todd, The Big Fellah as well as TV roles in Traitor, Trauma, EastEnders and Border Crossing, among other credits.
- Thomas Aldridge
Thomas has portrayed Ron Weasley since 2017. He has starred in numerous theatre productions like Made in Dagenham, Les Misérables, High Society, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Taming of the Shrew. As well as appearances on TV: Call the Midwife, EastEnders and This Is Going to Hurt.
- Claire Lams
Took on the role of Ginny Potter in October 2024. She has starred in numerous stage productions including One Man, Two Guvnors, Mates in Chelsea, Routes and Harvest. Television work includes The Perfect Couple, Trigger Point, Call The Midwife and Humans.
Tell me more about your role in the play?
David: “After defeating Lord Voldemort, 19 years into the future, Harry and the others are dropping their kids off at Hogwarts. The play picks up from there. I suppose the interesting thing about Harry is that you expect him to be the hero of the play but actually he starts out a little bit as an antihero. You find out that he's just become a sort of overworked, overtired dad who is struggling to parent his kids properly. Because he didn't really have any parenting himself, he can't really access the right kind of love that he needs, to be a good dad.
I think you get a different version of Harry Potter than you're expecting and that plays out through the elements of him which are obviously the same, but as you're seeing him in a completely different way, he's not this kid saving the world, he's a dad trying to just keep the world together.”
Claire: “There's magic and fun and spectacle but at the heart of it, it's really a human story. No one's a hero, it sort of feels like everyone's just trying to do the right thing or get through the day, kind of at the beginning. I think that's true for all of them. They've all got kids, so Harry and Ginny are now together after they left Hogwarts and they've got three kids.
It's hard when you have a kid that isn't like the others or isn't exactly like you. One that you can't quite grasp or manage to understand. It's all about them trying to get their kids to feel less lonely and be part of something. Ginny has been editing the sports pages of the Daily Prophet, so she's a working mum.
Quite quickly, they're thrown into trying to find their son and always trying to access him in some way.”
Thomas: “Following on from that, it's really interesting how the events of the past, everything that these characters went through when they were children and teenagers, has shaped them as adults.
On top of that, there's been a 19-year gap where life and adulthood, as well as parenthood can very much change you as human beings and as characters. I find that really interesting."
How would you explain the show to those who have not seen it?
Thomas: “It's a show about love, friendship and family.
It's a show where, we carry on 19 years after the events of the Battle of Hogwarts and our children go off to Hogwarts and get in all manners of trouble, and the adults have to come back and try and help save the day."
What makes it different from the films and books?
Claire: “It is more of an adult perspective in contrast to the books and films but then there are also kids within the play.
In a theatre you only have what you have, which makes it even more magical. The suitcase is a prop which becomes more than just a suitcase. They're gravestones, they're all sorts of things. This makes it closer to the books as you have to use your imagination more.
[The play] is a real experience where you feel it in your body. [Such as] the sounds that are played - they ripple through your body - it’s a whole experience”
If you could play any other role in the play which role would it be and why?
David: “Scorpius is, I feel, the most brilliantly written character in the play. In many ways, he's the Harry of the play because he's like a complete loaner grown up without any friends and then bursts into Hogwarts and has everyone chatting about him. But he's funny and he's peculiar and he's idiosyncratic and he's just got brilliant words to say.”
Which scene within the play is your favourite?
Claire: “The dinner scene where we are all together because it's before everything goes horribly wrong. We are slightly annoyed at Draco for being difficult but nothing big is going on, everyone is together, there are worries but nothing bad is happening. You see a normal family dinner where everyone's getting on or chatting.”
Thomas: “I love all the scenes where all of the adults are together. All of the old guard together like at Godric's Hollow, St. Jerome's Church. the kitchen, the dinner scene. They're my favourite ones, as we're all together and bouncing off each other.”
David: “Harry tries to give Albus his mum's blanket. This action ignites the action of the play because it ends with a horrific argument. But it's the way that the scene builds, and the intention Harry has going into the scene, and the way this play ends [in that moment] is a very brilliantly written scene. I enjoyed playing that because you sort of walk into the scene with unknowingness [not knowing what’s going to happen]”
Have you read any of the Harry Potter books, and if so, which was your favourite and why?
Thomas: “I started reading them when I was 18 but fell out with them and then started again when auditioning for the role. Reading the Prisoner of Azkaban is when I was really on board with it. Imagine reading that when you're 11, starting school and reading it as you grow up.”
Claire: "I was reading them to my boyfriend, I read all of the Harry Potter books to him and found it was hard at times to put them down even when on holiday... I was reading a book and it was so good that we were like, we need to just read more rather than going for a swim.
They just get darker and darker. And so I think probably the last one was my favourite, but just for that reason that you sort of know everyone so well, and now you're just following a story.”
David: Not sure if I read them all, but I did re-read them before I started rehearsing for the show because it is a good backstory. I think the Philosopher's Stone I read when it first came out and like others found it hard to put it down. I was always into fantasy books when I was younger like David Eddings and Tolkien.”
What's it like performing on the West End stage?
Thomas: “Oh, I think the West End is the pinnacle. It's the leading area of theatre in the world in my opinion and that makes me really proud.”
Claire: “It's amazing darling. I cycle in every day and every time I come over the bridge from South London, I get really excited. I'm from London, I love it. You’re at the heart of everything. And sometimes you forget because you're in a theatre and between shows when we go out, it's so vibrant, so much stuff is happening and the amount of people coming to see the show. The theatre is gorgeous, it's like everything about it just feels a bit dreamlike. We're in a part of Hogwarts.”
David: “It's a really beautiful position of the Palace Theatre and you still feel there's an intimacy to it. Being in a big West End show is like you're part of what makes theatre feasible. You're surrounded by huge shows which basically make theatre sustainable because without big West End shows, there wouldn't be finance for small shows that are finding their feet and trying to tell slightly more niche stories.”
From the magic on stage to the spirit of the city itself, I had to ask... what’s your favourite part of London and why?
Thomas: “East London for me, It’s where I'm from. Although very East into the district line. “West Ham” and how wonderful the area is.”
Claire: “Any part of London by a park, I love it. I think London's parks are the best thing about it. We've got a lot of really nice ones and especially Brockwell Park - it has a lido.”
David: “My favourite part of London is Hampstead Heath. It’s possibly the best city park in the world. It has amazing bars, restaurants and shops, it’s great.”
Planning your visit
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is played in two parts.
Part One: Wednesdays to Fridays and Saturdays at 2pm; Sundays at 1pm
Part Two: Wednesdays to Fridays and Saturdays at 7pm; Sundays at 6pm
Book your tickets now for a captivating performance at the Palace Theatre.