A one-part wonder! The West End’s streamlined Harry Potter and the Cursed Child works like magic

Palace theatre, London Five hours have been trimmed to three for this new version but it is packed with magic moments and superb performances

Ten years on from its premiere, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child has been transformed from an epic two-part play into a richly absorbing one-part production. A similar version is already running to great acclaim on Broadway but it still feels risky to tinker with a show that has come to feel like a fixed jewel in the West End. Happily, that risk has paid off and Cursed Child hasn’t lost any of its sparkle.

Admittedly, there are some drawbacks to reducing Jack Thorne’s ambitious five-hour script into a very tightly packed three hours. The plot can, at times, overwhelm.