After revealing the art for the upcoming Harry Potter play, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, J.K. Rowling has made official what fans have been hoping for months: Yes, the play is another Harry Potter sequel. Specifically, she’s calling it “the official eighth Potter story and the first to be presented on stage,â€Â as per her Pottermore site. The story will pick up where the Deathly Hallows epilogue left off, with Harry Potter now in his 30s and a working stiff. Meanwhile, his youngest son, Albus Severus (the one named after Dumbledore and Snape), isn’t faring much better with such famous first, middle, and last names while at Hogwarts. In other words, he’s most likely the titular “cursed child.†Here’s the official synopsis, which sort of suggests Albus ended up in Slytherin like he feared:
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.
Unfortunately for fans dying to see if Harry’s parenting skills are as unconventional as his wizardry was at Hogwarts, you’ll have to travel to England to find out. The two-part play (because it was just too “epic†to fit in one showing) will run at London’s Palace Theatre next summer; tickets go on sale starting next Wednesday. Pro tip: Spend the weekend perfecting your liquid luck potion.