West End vs Broadway: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child – two Scorpius Malfoys duel it out

The world premiere production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child officially celebrates its eighth anniversary today.

Opening night at the Palace Theatre in London, where it is still running today, was held on 30 July 2016 – garnering the full five stars from WhatsOnStage lead critic Sarah Crompton – and the Broadway transfer debuted in March 2018.

Following the pandemic, the New York production at the Lyric Theatre reopened as a revised one-part version, while the London staging continues in its original two-part form.

Playwright Jack Thorne commented today: “Making Harry Potter and the Cursed Child was a beautiful experience, working with John and our talented creative team and cast has been a wonderful journey. It really has been a team effort from every person involved in the show, and we are all proud to still be here eight years on.”

Director John Tiffany added: “We have been on an incredible journey over the last eight years, from opening the original production at the Palace Theatre in 2016 to taking the show to audiences worldwide. We have collaborated with many wonderful artists over the years, both on and off stage, all of whom have worked tirelessly to bring Harry Potter and the Cursed Child to our fantastic audiences each and every performance.”

To mark today’s milestone achievement, we’ve dedicated a special episode of West End vs Broadway to the WhatsOnStage Award-winning production and have brought together two actors who arguably portray one of the most popular characters of the play… Scorpius Malfoy.

Check out London’s Harry Acklowe and New York’s Erik Christopher Peterson as they form the “International Society of Scorpi” in the video below:

The West End cast also includes David Ricardo-Pearce (as Harry Potter), Polly Frame (as Ginny Potter), Ellis Rae (as Albus Potter), Thomas Aldridge (as Ron Weasley), Jade Ogugua (as Hermione Granger), Taneetrah Porter (as Rose Granger-Weasley), and Steve John Shepherd (as Draco Malfoy).

Completing the company are Ishmail Aaron, David Annen, Nairn Archer, Darrell Brockis, Sabina Cameron, Robert Curtis, Toby De Salis, Odelia Dizel-Cubuca, Rory Fraser, Jemma Geanaus, Harry Goodson-Bevan, Jemma Gould, Kelton Hoyland, David Ijiti, Chris Jarman, Sally Jayne Hind, Emma Louise Jones, Kathryn Meisle, Ian Redford, Abigail Rosser, Clancy Ryan, Tonny Shim, Adam Slynn, Sara Stewart, Benjamin Stratton, Maia Tamrakar, Alex Tomkins, Jake Tuesley, Sam Varley, Jess Vickers, Wreh-asha Walton, and Katie Wimpenny, with Abigail Austin, Oliver Dawson, Layla Duke, Honor Hastings, Aubrey Hayes, Aljosa Radosavljevic and Ethan Webster, rotating in two children’s roles.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child features a story by J K Rowling, Thorne and Tiffany and is penned by Thorne, with movement by Steven Hoggett, set by Christine Jones, costumes by Katrina Lindsay, music and arrangements by Imogen Heap, lighting by Neil Austin, sound by Gareth Fry, illusions and magic by Jamie Harrison, music supervision and arrangements by Martin Lowe and casting by Julia Horan.