Q: What has two gents, four hastily repurposed set pieces, and a couple of bags of costume pieces from the party shop?
A: The entirety of Harry Potter.
Welcome to Potted Potter, a 70-minute romp through all seven Harry Potter books. Originally staged in the UK in 2006 by creators Daniel Clarkson and Jefferson Turner, Potted Potter has a long legacy of laughs. The show has returned to Sydney for the school holidays with Scott Hoaston and Brendan Murphy (alternate: Jacob Jackson) centre stage.
The conceit is that Scott is a well-versed scholar of the Boy Wizard. His mission is to theatrically stage the books with creative partner Brendan who, it seems, has little more than a glancing knowledge of the story. His buffoonery also means that he’s squandered most of the production budget. The show must go on – and the clock is ticking – so, it’s off on the Hogwart’s Express for a chaotic rollick through many thousands of pages and hundreds of characters.
It’s funny – very funny, fuelled primarily by Scott and Brendan’s committment to silliness and repartee with the audience. One does not need to know a howler from a Hufflepuff to be swept into this procession of word play and farce. If you are an afficianado, all the more jokes for you, though don’t expect too many fandom deep cuts.
There are jokes that will land best with kids, plus a few wink-nods just for the adults. Most of the fast-paced humour seemed to land broadly. One of the only times that the rapid pace changes a bit is for some good old audience work with a full-theatre game of Quidditch (as “authentic” as the rest of the telling, naturally).
As fun as this show is, the conceit doesn’t completely hold together. When convenient, Scott’s so-called expertise falls away, and the pair’s commitment to their straight man/clown personas is a little loosey-goosey, sometimes inexplicably so. A long running joke about an elaborate prop falls comedically flat in the reveal. And, at times, the bits are just too try-hard (silly string, I’m looking at you). This may seem nit-picky for a show that we generally enjoyed, but given the ticket price, I don’t think it’s fair to suggest that this a perfect production.
It is a good one, though. One of the highlights was seeing many audience members going full Hogwarts costume, completely embracing the spirit. My 11-year old theatre companion, who has pretty well outgrown most “children’s theatre,” hardly stopped laughing. That joyous spirit, itself, is a bit of magic.
We attended Potted Potters as guests for potential review. Opinions are entirely ours.
If you go –
Full details and tickets
Where: Seymoure Centre
Dates: 12 – 21 April
Recommended Age: 6+
Tickets: $69 – $89