Potted Potter is a hilarious 70 minute parody of the Harry Potter series that can be enjoyed by the entire family.
Katie, Emma and I attended a performance of Potted Potter at the Panasonic Theatre in Toronto last evening that was one of the funniest things that I have seen in the theatre in a long time. Arriving in Toronto direct from London’s West End, Potted Potter is an unauthorized parody of the Harry Potter series written and performed by British actors Dan Clarkson & Jeff Turner.
The duo leads the audience in a madcap romp through the seven Harry Potter books in a mere 70 minutes, providing a hilarious summary of the plot and a very original depiction of some of J.K. Rowling’s characters, without the benefit of elaborate costumes, sets or props. Complete mayhem ensues and has the audience roaring with laughter from start to finish.
Emma’s attendance of the performance was a last-minute substitution as I had planned to take only Katie and one of her Potter-mad friends, however, the friend was not feeling well and Emma scored her seat. I had been concerned that Emma wouldn’t understand the show, however, she loved every minute of it. The highlight for her was being selected to go on stage to play the Gryffindor Seeker in a Quidditch match that the entire audience participated in (well except for the unfortunate folks in the balcony who got a life lesson in the importance of buying tickets early). Emma was a brilliant seeker who even interrupted Dan for a point of clarification on how this game was actually going to work and received a chocolate for her hard work on stage.
The mark of a great show is when the audience is still buzzing about it afterward and my daughters could not stop talking about it. On the car ride home, my theatre-loving girls played back most of the lines from the show for the benefit of their Dad who hadn’t been able to enjoy the performance. It’s surprising how amusing “One of you will live……And one of you will die” can be over and over again. You probably had to be there to get it – and you should definitely be there. The show has been extended to March 25th in Toronto so there’s still a chance to see it while it’s in town, although tickets are selling out quickly. If you aren’t in the Toronto area then keep your fingers crossed that the 2012 international tour will bring the show to a venue near you.
If you are a Harry Potter fan then you won’t want to miss this lovely send-up and if you haven’t had time to read the books then here’s your chance to get the highlights in a mere 70 minutes of over-the-top fun. This is a show that is truly fun for the whole family.
Potted Potter is playing at the Panasonic Theatre at 651 Yonge Street in Toronto until March 25th, 2012. Tickets are available on-line at Mirvish.com, by calling Ticket King at 416-872-1212 or in person at the box office. For more information about the show please refer to the Potted Potter website.
Emma in her souvenir Potted Potter glasses
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Steve
This sounds perfect for me. If they’d do this for every book, I’d never have to read again! Very cool that Emma got to go on stage though. I’m guessing since there’s an “after” picture that she lived, and the other one died?
Lisa Goodmurphy
I took the photo before the show – I wish I would have been allowed to take a shot while she was on stage wearing her Gryffindor hat. She lost but she then had to choose whether she would get sprayed with a giant squirt gun or whether she would get a chocolate and her team would get squirted with the giant squirt gun – she chose the chocolate and everyone on the Gryffindor side of the audience had to duck!
Andi of My Beautiful Adventures
How much fun!
Becca@R We There Yet Mom?
That sounds like so much fun!! My HP loving kiddos would LOVE this!!!!
~Becca
Lisa Goodmurphy
It was so much fun, Becca! And both of the actors tweeted me a message after they saw the review saying what a great job Emma had done on stage. She was over the moon!!
nestor csm
nice! good thing to do for your kid…