“Welcome to Hogwarts!”

April 4, 2022 - With those words, associate director Pip Minnithorpe welcomed the cast of 35, and members of the creative team and crew, to the first rehearsal of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on Monday.

“I’m super excited to be bringing the play to Canadian audiences that they were promised three years ago,” said Minnithorpe.

Creating the Canadian production of Harry Potter is a mammoth project that involves hundreds of people on three continents. From the 500+ costumes to the custom-made special effects and illusions, every aspect of the production is a labour of love.

As an example of this show’s size and scope, while most theatre shows rehearse for four weeks Harry Potter has a rehearsal period of eight weeks. And every moment of the show’s creation promises to be filled with wonder and excitement for the army of artists and technicians working on it.

You could certainly feel that in the meet-and-greet that began the rehearsal period. Why?

As renowned actor Fiona Reid, who plays Professor McGonagall in the show, explained to the Toronto Star, she is "excited by the prospect of this being the first live theatre experience for audience members coming out of the pandemic. 'We’re going to make this show safe, and we’re going to make it the most safe for the audience so that it can be the most wonderful, electrifying experience for them,' she said. 'We have to come together again. I think we’re all a little starved and we need to feed our souls again.’ “

Check out the video capturing the excitement of the first day of rehearsal. There are also photos and links to the many TV news stories that were broadcast about the start of rehearsals.