7th August 2022
CC Blooms, Edinburgh Fringe.
Rating: 5 Stars
We all know the grip that Harry Potter and his wizarding companions had over the world, and as a millennial who grew up with the books and films it became such a big part of our formative years that for many of us, it shaped us, we queued up at midnight to buy the books and found comfort in the tale of an outsider finding a place where he belonged, a thought particularly relevant to trans people… However then the tweets and the essays happened, and we were all crushed. How could the author of something that meant so much to us say such damaging and hurtful things about trans people, how could we separate art from the artist?
Enter “Reclaing Harry”, the fun, colourful, touching and camp as can be three hander which successfully sets out to“Make magic more inclusive, and make Pottermore Queer”
We meet Harry in his cupboard under the stairs and help him on his quest to find a new writer, accompanied by Harry’s former no.1 fan girl they magic themselves in and out of other famous and well loved stories, meeting different characters to find inspiration. In the Edinburgh preview at the Above the Stag theatre, Harry was played by Mabel Rose Lewis who gave a sweet and endearing performance of Harry accompanied by some very cute and slick dance moves. Harry’s new bestie, Ally, played by Evie James draws a similar vibe looks wise to a young JK Rowling (but with much better morals) and gives a very strong performance with excellent vocals in this parody musical, particularly on Natalie Imbruglia’s “Torn”, one of the many excellent 90’s songs to have the Rich Watkins treatment. Speaking of, Rich Watkins, the third performer in this three hander and the creative behind the show is a tour de force. He makes a memorable entrance every time he swoops on stage as he plays a myriad of other characters, always bringing gravitas and charm whether he be playing Voldemort or Gandalf he is incredibly watchable. Kudos must be given to his writing, the word play is fantastic and the journey in the structure of the show is perfectly surmised to bring a touching end to a colorful adventure on stage.
Do not miss this show!
Reclaiming Harry will
be at Edinburgh festival at CC Blooms from the 8th - 28th August 2022.
Niamh Handley-Vaughan
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