After a much anticipated wait, the smash-hit play Potted Potter opens in Adelaide this week. Playing for a very limited season at the Dunstan Playhouse, Potted Potter sees all seven Harry Potter books played out live on stage in seventy hilarious minutes.
Created by double Olivier Award best Entertainment nominees Daniel Clarkson and Jefferson Turner, Potted Potter is a must-see for Potter addicts and a great introduction to the series for anyone who’s ever wondered what all the fuss is about.
The Australian touring cast features Scott Hoatson as Harry Potter and Brendan Murphy playing…well, everyone else.
Brendan Murphy spoke to Glam Adelaide’s Arts Editor Ben Stefanoff recently to discuss the show and what it is about Harry Potter that people love. Brendan also shared what drew him to pursue a career in the performing arts industry.
“I had no idea that there was even a career available as an actor or a writer until I was about 16 years old. A teacher told me about drama school and I found out that there was a route to actually do it professionally. For a long time I was performing around the UK and taking shows up to the Edinburgh Fringe – that was really where I really cut my teeth in the world of professional acting. Since then, parody theatre has taken me all over the world, and I absolutely love it.”
We asked Brendan how much of a Harry Potter fan he is.
“I grew up, as I’m sure a lot of people did, reading the books. I was ten, Harry’s age, when I read the first books and I just fell in love with them. I think, especially in the UK, there was a Harry Potter frenzy, so I was definitely caught up in that as a child. To see it still entertaining people, to see all the different generations coming out still enjoying Harry Potter today, is a brilliant thing.”
Potted Potter sees all seven books crammed into seventy minutes — just how chaotic is this production?
“I think there is definitely an element of chaos in the show, but hopefully we keep it in good order. The train doesn’t quite come off the tracks, even though it might seem like it’s going to go that way. In the show, there is Scott Hoatson who plays Harry Potter, and then there is me who plays everyone else. It’s fast paced, it’s frantic, there’s audience interaction and you might think that things are going wrong here and there, but in the end it works out. You get the full Hogwarts experience and, crucially, no one gets hurt in the process.”
Writing and rehearsing a parody show would no doubt be a lot of fun, especially in the rehearsal room, piecing it all together.
“When it was first written, it was before the final Harry Potter books had been released. Its first outing was at the Edinburgh Fringe, and included the first six books in the show. It went down really well, so the following year, they came up and they did it again, but the final book had just come out. So they were rewriting it on the train on the way to Edinburgh to put that final book into the show. So there was definitely an element of chaos in the rehearsal room.
“When Scott and I joined the cast and started performing, it was already a tried and tested show. It had been on tour on the West End and it had been to Broadway. We are given a lot of free range, however, to ad lib and improvise and play with the audience each night, so it does feel like it’s a fresh show.”
Opening this Friday, 10th of May, Potted Potter will play to Adelaide audiences for a very limited season.
“The thing that we always like to talk about is the Quidditch match – everyone wants to know, how does it happen? How do you get a live game of Quidditch in a theatre? I’m afraid there can’t be any spoilers. So you’ll just have to come along and see how that works out. We also have a fire-breathing dragon, which is one of my particular favourites. And, of course, all of the characters.”
Potted Potter
Dunstan Playhouse
May 10 – 12, 2024
Tickets and further information: https://www.adelaidefestivalcentre.com.au/whats-on/potted-potter
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