Entertainment
New Harry Potter book to break records
Australian booksellers predict that the eighth installment of the series, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, would be a record breaker. Within 12 hours of the announcement of the new Harry Potter book, an online bookseller, Booktopia took about 300 pre-orders for it. Other books which broke Booktopia's pre-order records were E.L. James' Fifty Shades of Grey and Harper Lee's Go Set a Watchman.
All about the Harry Potter series
The Harry Potter series is a collection of 7 novels written by J.K. Rowling. The series is about Harry Potter's journey at Hogwarts. The first book in the series was 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone' published in 1997, and the last was 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows' published in 2007. More than 450 million copies of the books have been sold worldwide.
Harry Potter’s next, a stage play
Rowling revealed that she was developing a play based on her previous Harry Potter works, on her website. Reportedly, she would co-produce the play along with the award winning producers Sonia Friedman and Colin Callender. Rowling said that she had received several offers about turning the Harry Potter novel into a play but, Colin and Sonia's vision about the play was the most appropriate.
Stage play focuses on Harry's son
The plot of the play- Harry Potter and the Cursed Child would start where the last novel had ended. It was officially declared that the play would be a sequel and not a prequel as some rumors had called it. According to Pottermore website, the story would be about Harry's youngest son Albus Severus, who is about to start his first year at Hogwarts.
Harry Potter in a new avatar
The play which will feature a cast of over 30 characters would portray Harry Potter in a new manner. Harry would now be a husband, father of three and an exhausted Ministry of Magic employee.
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child's cast revealed
The lead cast of the eagerly awaited stage play, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child was revealed. The lead characters Harry, Ron and Hermione would be played by Jamie Parker, Paul Thornley and Noma Dumezweni respectively. Reportedly, Rowling was excited with the choice of cast. The previews of the much anticipated two-part play would begin on 7 June 2016 at Palace Theatre in London.
Hermione Granger's potrayal triggers debate
Many fans raised questions when Noma Dumezweni was cast to play Hermione's character. But, J.K. Rowling said that she never specified anything about Hermione's ethnicity. She mentioned only about her personality and abilities in the books.
J.K.Rowling unveils Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
Rowling announced that the 8th book of Harry Potter series would be released on 31 July 2016 midnight. The book would contain the script for the new stage-play, which would premiere at London's Palace Theatre, just a day before the book-release. The hardback and electronic versions of the book would be released simultaneously after many fans requested to make the play into a book.
