Theater review: 'Potted Potter' casts a laughter spell on Potter fans and noobs alike

You've got the seven worldwide best-selling books, eight top grossing movies, and an official online experience of the wizarding world.  So is there possibly anything more that the Harry Potter franchise can offer?

 

Well, imagine a two-man act which promises to summarize all the seven books of J.K. Rowling's most famous work in seventy minutes. That's what the stage parody Potted Potter did, or at least tried to do during its limited run in Manila at the RCBC Plaza from August 28 to September 2.

 

Potted Potter, which calls itself an "unauthorized Harry experience," is a terribly hilarious re-telling of the story of Harry Potter. 

 

However, the book's fans will be pleased to know it was retold in a manner that will not offend them and still properly introduces the book to people who have no clue what it's about. If there are still any left out there.

 

Concisely, the show just killed. Using smart and witty exchanges, talented British actors Gary Trainor and Jesse Briton managed to elicit laugh after laugh from the audience.

 

Trainor, who plays the role of Harry, narrated each of the seven books while Briton attempted to mimic, through absurd wigs and voices, some of the other 300 characters in the worldwide literary hit.

 

The audience was treated to silly portrayals of scenes from the Potter books brought about by Briton's alleged lack of knowledge about Rowling's most famous work and Trainor's dismay and frustration at his partner's disregard over the same.

 

Briton was best when he arranged the special appearances of a snarky Dobby, a silly Nagini, and most especially a fire-breathing Hungarian Horntail dragon.  

 

And he also asked the obvious question normal, non-fans might ask, "What does 'the deathly hallows' even mean?"

 

Given that the popularity of the Harry Potter series has made it common grist for the mill, it was only fair that Trainor and Briton throw in other pop culture references into the mush.  Narnia, Twilight, Scooby Doo, Lion King, Lord of the Rings, and Phantom of the Opera, may I introduce Harry Potter.

 

Furthermore, you just want to buy the play’s writers a round of balut and beer as they also tried to sneak in popular Filipino references like the walis ting-ting, Boracay island, the Eraserheads, and even Ateneo de Manila University. 

 

But what really makes this play a stand-out show is its interactive nature.  

 

A favorite from the audience would definitely be the re-telling of Book 4, in which audience members were made to participate in a Quidditch match and suffer the consequences of losing by being doused with a water gun.

 

Throughout the play, Trainor and Briton likewise tried to get reactions from the audience by directly asking questions or sometimes even jokingly taunting them.

 

And when they received ironic, good-natured "boos" from the audience, they dared to answer with "yes, we went there" or "didn't expect that reaction."

 

That, coupled with some magic tricks, a modified version of "My Way" and "I Will Survive," made the whole experience time and money well spent. — DVM, GMA News

 

Potted Potter was created by double Olivier Award Best Entertainment nominees Daniel Clarkson and Jefferson Turner in 2005 as a five-minute spiel for fans awaiting the release of the sixth book in the series.

 

It has since been developed into a full-length stage production which has been played in sold-out houses in Toronto, London, Edinburgh, and New York City. 

 

Potted Potter was shown in Manila from August 28 to September 2, 2012 at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium, RCBC Plaza in Makati City.  It will continue to be shown in New York in September and in Chicago from November to December.

 

For specific tour dates, you may click here.

Photos courtesy of Concertus Manila