“Cursed Child” Producer Talks Casting and Working with J.K. Rowling
Only a few weeks ago, the full cast of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child was revealed, and we also learned that rehearsals are now underway for the play. With the preview for the play due to start in May, there’s not long to go until fans get to start seeing the production. In a recent interview with BBC Radio 4’s Front Row program, Sonia Friedman, the producer of the play, has spoken about casting, taking the project on, and her beginnings in theater.
Unfortunately, the program is only available to listen to in the UK, but we have summarized some of the highlights for you here.
Sonia Friedman has had a long and varied theater career, picking up along the way 20 Olivier Award nominations (winning nine of them) and four successive Tony Awards. Over the last 20 years, she has worked on over 140 new productions – with 19 last year alone. In the interview, she admits that she has cut down on the number this year, due to committing to working on Harry Potter alongside her co-producer Colin Callender and writer Jack Thorne and the amount of work that this involves.
Sonia spoke a little about running with the idea for a Harry Potter stage show.
We had an idea […] that we took to J.K. Rowling and her management and the idea was that we would like to put Harry Potter on the stage but in a new story.
She added that Jo is “very involved in the story.”
Moving onto the issue of casting, Friedman said that they cast Noma Dumezweni as Hermione because she is “phenomenal” and that they had worked with her previously in a couple of workshops, which is always beneficial in developing a good relationship. She added that with a cast of 34, it would be
inappropriate to not represent society on the stage.
UK readers can listen to the program here. Find out more about Harry Potter and the Cursed Child here.
If you listened, did you enjoy the interview and learning more about the producer? Are you looking forward to seeing the play? Let us know in the comments!
