So as well as the film prequel Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Themcoming next year, fans of adolescent wizards also have the stage production Harry Potter and the Cursed Child to look forward to. The two-part play is set 19 years after the last book, featuring Harry, Ron and Hermione as middle-aged adults, and is endorsed (but not written) by JK Rowling.
The main cast has just been announced, with respected stage and screen actors Jamie Parker and Paul Thornley as Harry Potter and Ron Weasley respectively. But the casting of Hermione is most interesting, as she’ll be played by Noma Dumezweni, a black actress of South African heritage. Speaking Harry Potter website Pottermore, JK Rowling said: “I’m so excited with the choice of casting for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. I can’t wait to see Jamie, Noma and Paul bring the adult Harry, Hermione and Ron to life on stage next summer.”
Dumezwemi has appeared in Doctor Who and Eastenders, and films such as Dirty Pretty Things and Macbeth.
While Emma Watson played her in the films, Hermione’s race isn’t mentioned anywhere in the books. So there’s no reason why she can’t be black—or any other race for that mater. We’re sure if you trawl through Reddit and message boards, you’ll be able to quite easily find some entitled racist nerds losing their shit over this. But why bother? That’s just depressing. Instead, we’re just going to enjoy the Tweets from people who’ve been touched by the news.
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.
Previews for Harry Potter and the Curse Child begin at the Palace Theatre in London on June 7, 2016, and you can get tickets from here. The full synopsis for the play reads:
