Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Tickets at the Palace Theatre
The most awarded play in history, ten years at the Palace Theatre, and it has just changed shape completely.
From £302 hours 55 minutes, with an intervalAges 8 and up
A play at the Palace Theatre, near Leicester Square and Tottenham Court RoadBooking to 27 June 2027
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020 7193 9050 · Monday to Saturday 8am to 8pm, Sunday 10am to 8pm
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Read This First: It Is One Show Now
A reimagined one-part production opens on Friday 9 October 2026 and is booking into June 2027. Same story, same creative team, one condensed show of 2 hours 55 minutes including an interval.
The original two-part version played its last performance at the Palace on Saturday 20 September 2026, after ten years. If you saw it, you saw a five-hour day across Part One and Part Two. If you are booking now, you are booking the single show.
Broadway switched to a single show in 2021, and Melbourne, Chicago, San Francisco, Toronto and Tokyo have run the shorter version for years. London and Hamburg were the last two holding out.
Who Is Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Best For?
- Anyone who grew up with the books. The play picks up 19 years after the last one ends, and it is the eighth story.
- People who like theatre to do things they cannot explain. The magic here is pretty special, and one of the many reasons the show has lasted a decade.
- Families with children of 8 and up.
- Anyone who has never read a word of Harry Potter. You will follow it.
- Not for you if you want a short evening. Just under three hours is a long play, and it is dense from the start.
About Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
It opened at the Palace Theatre on 30 July 2016 and has been there ever since. It is the most awarded play in history: nine Olivier Awards including Best New Play, which is a record, and six Tony Awards including Best Play.
The story is by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany. Thorne wrote the play, Tiffany directed it. Nineteen years after the last book, Harry's son Albus is starting at Hogwarts in the shadow of a famous father, and his one friend is Draco Malfoy's son. What they decide to do about the past is the story.
We will not go further than that, and neither did the critics. The show asks audiences to keep the secrets and it is worth keeping them.
Worth knowing before you book: the show contains loud noises, smoke, flashing lights and some genuinely dark moments. Official guidance is 8 and over.
Performance Schedule
From Friday 9 October 2026
| Day | Matinee | Evening |
|---|---|---|
| Tuesday | - | 7pm |
| Wednesday | 1pm | 7pm |
| Thursday | - | 7pm |
| Friday | - | 7pm |
| Saturday | 1pm | 7pm |
| Sunday | 2:30pm | - |
2 hours 55 minutes including an interval. Booking to 27 June 2027.
How the Evening Works
One show, 2 hours 55 minutes, with a single interval. It is a single sitting now, so the day does not need planning the way the two-part version did.
Fifteen to twenty minutes before is enough. The official advice is an hour, and there are real security checks with thorough bag searches, but the queues move and the theatre makes sure everyone is in before the show starts.
Top Tip: eat lightly, or eat afterwards. A three-course dinner and a glass of red at five o'clock, then a dark theatre at seven, and you might well sleep through the second half. It happens more than you would think.
One more: no bags larger than 41 x 31 x 16cm, and the theatre has no storage. If you are coming from a train with a suitcase, leave it somewhere first.
Best Seats for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
The Palace has four levels: Stalls, Dress Circle, Grand Circle and Balcony.
- Central Stalls for the detail. It is a big Stalls, so do not go too far back.
- Dress Circle, front and centre if you want the whole stage in one view.
- Grand Circle is the value.
- The Balcony is enormous here, bigger than either circle, and it is a long way up. Not really recommended.
Restricted view seats need thinking about on this show more than most. Things happen all over the stage and right up to the ceiling, and things fly. A cheap seat that cuts off the top of the stage cuts off some of the reason you came. Restricted seats are clearly marked and priced in our booking process, so you will always know before you pay. It is a balance of price against what you actually see.
Full level-by-level detail is in the Tickets and Best Seats tab.
Call us on 020 7193 9050 and we will talk you through it.
Cast and Creative Team
The company listed by the production, checked 22 September 2026:
| Role | Performer |
|---|---|
| Harry Potter | David Ricardo-Pearce |
| Ginny Potter | Zoë Rainey |
| Albus Potter | Ethan Rouse |
| Scorpius Malfoy | Bill Stanley |
| Draco Malfoy | Adam Jackson-Smith |
| Hermione Granger | Naana Agyei-Ampadu |
| Ron Weasley | Thomas Aldridge |
Alongside them, a company of around forty covers everyone else in the story, several of them playing three or four parts a night.
No end dates are published for this company. As with every West End show, no particular performer can be guaranteed at any performance.
Play by Jack Thorne, from an original story by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany. Directed by John Tiffany, movement by Steven Hoggett, set by Christine Jones, costumes by Katrina Lindsay, music by Imogen Heap, lighting by Neil Austin, sound by Gareth Fry, illusions and magic by Jamie Harrison. Full detail is in the Cast and Creatives tab.
Book Your Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Tickets
The one-part production opens Friday 9 October 2026 and is booking to June 2027.
Every price with us is all-in.
Book tickets • Call us on 020 7193 9050
Dates & tickets
FAQs
2 hours 55 minutes, including one interval.
No. The two-part version played its last performance on 20 September 2026. From 9 October it is one show, one ticket, one evening.
£25 to £175. Our prices are all-in: what you see on the seating map is what you pay. Midweek dates are cheapest, and group rates start at ten people.
Official guidance is 8 and over. Under-5s are not admitted at all, everyone needs their own ticket whatever their age, and under-15s must be accompanied by an adult. It is dark in places and it is long, so think about the child rather than the age.
No. It helps, and several critics said so in 2016, but the show does the work of putting you in the world. If you know nothing at all you will still follow it.
There are some genuinely dark moments, loud noises and effects that make people jump. We think it's no more scary than any of the films.
Fifteen to twenty minutes. The producers say an hour because of the security checks, and the bag searches are genuinely thorough, but in practice the queue keeps moving and nobody gets left outside. Latecomers are not admitted, so do not cut it finer than that.
A normal bag, yes, and it will be searched. Nothing larger than 41 x 31 x 16cm, and there is no storage at the theatre or nearby, so suitcases have to be left elsewhere.
No. Food and drink bought outside the theatre cannot be brought in.
No. It is a play, with a score by Imogen Heap underneath it, but nobody sings and there are no songs. This is the single most common misunderstanding about the show, probably because Harry Potter and the West End together make people assume musical.
No. There has never been a filmed or audio release of the stage show, and there are no announced plans for one. The only way to see it is in the theatre. The published script is a different thing: it is the text, not the production.
No. None of the film cast has ever appeared in the London production. The characters are played by stage actors, and Harry is in his late thirties here, so it was never going to be the film company.
He played Draco Malfoy on Broadway, not in London. If you have seen him mentioned alongside Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, that is the New York production.
Yes. J.K. Rowling has confirmed it counts as part of the official story rather than a spin-off, which is why it is described as the eighth Harry Potter story.
113 Shaftesbury Avenue, at Cambridge Circus. Leicester Square is about four minutes, Tottenham Court Road five and Piccadilly Circus seven.
There is a step-free route into the Stalls and dedicated access seating. There is no lift to the upper levels. Accessible bookings are handled by the venue's own access team rather than by us.
Yes. Call us on 020 7193 9050 and we will find the right seat for your date. The price we tell you on the phone is the price you pay.
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Prices
£25 to £175, with the cheapest seats midweek.
All of our prices are all-in: the price on the seating map is the price you pay.
Where to Sit: the Palace Theatre, Level by Level
Stalls
The closest, and a big section. Central is what matters. Do not sit too far back: the Dress Circle overhangs, and this show uses the height of the stage, all the way up to the ceiling.
Dress Circle
Front and centre here gives you the whole picture at once, which on a show that works vertically as well as horizontally is worth paying for. That said, the seats immediately next to the premium block will make the trip a good deal more affordable for very little loss.
Grand Circle
The value call. Further back and higher, but you still get the full stage. It is quite steep up there, and you still get a good view of the whole show.
Balcony
Unusually large at this theatre, larger than either circle, and 77 stairs up with no lift. Cheap, and a long way from the stage.
Restricted View Seats
The Palace has pillars and overhangs, and this production uses the full height of the stage. A restricted seat here does not just cost you a corner of the set, it can cost you an effect. They are clearly marked and priced in our booking process. On most shows we would tell you to take the saving. On this one we would rather you paid a bit more.
Call us on 020 7193 9050 for honest advice on any seat.
Seating plan
Dates & tickets
Booking now
Getting to the Palace Theatre
The Palace Theatre is at 113 Shaftesbury Avenue, London W1D 5AY, on the island site at Cambridge Circus.
Tube. Leicester Square is about four minutes, Tottenham Court Road five, Piccadilly Circus seven.
Rail. Charing Cross is around ten to twelve minutes on foot.
Buses. Routes stop at Cambridge Circus on Charing Cross Road and along Shaftesbury Avenue. Full detail is in our Palace Theatre guide.
Driving. You are inside the Congestion Charge zone. Q-Park's Theatreland scheme gives 50% off after midday for up to four hours, which covers the show comfortably.
When to Arrive
Fifteen to twenty minutes before. The producer's own advice is an hour, and the security checks are real: bags are searched on the way in. But the queues move and the theatre holds the start until everyone is through, so an hour is more than you need.
Latecomers are not admitted.
The Auditorium
Four levels: Stalls, Dress Circle, Grand Circle and Balcony, seating around 1,400.
There is no lift. From the foyer it is 20 stairs to the Stalls, 30 to the Dress Circle, 56 to the Grand Circle and 77 to the Balcony.
Access
There is a step-free route to the Stalls, and an alternative door from the foyer with only three steps down for anyone who finds twenty too many. That door is not signposted, so ask.
Dedicated access seating is set aside for every performance, along with seats for anyone who may need to leave during the show and a quieter area with a screen.
Accessible bookings and access questions are handled by the venue's own access team rather than by us. Full detail is in our Palace Theatre guide.
Address
113 Shaftesbury Avenue, London W1D 5AY
Nearest Tube
Leicester Square and Tottenham Court Road
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Cast
Current company, as listed by the production on 22 September 2026:
| Role | Performer |
|---|---|
| Harry Potter | David Ricardo-Pearce |
| Ginny Potter | Zoë Rainey |
| Albus Potter | Ethan Rouse |
| Scorpius Malfoy | Bill Stanley |
| Draco Malfoy | Adam Jackson-Smith |
| Hermione Granger | Naana Agyei-Ampadu |
| Ron Weasley | Thomas Aldridge |
| Rose Granger-Weasley | Hasia Akwaboah |
As with every West End show, no particular performer can be guaranteed at any performance.
Creative Team
| Role | Name |
|---|---|
| Original story | J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany |
| Play | Jack Thorne |
| Director | John Tiffany |
| Movement | Steven Hoggett |
| Set | Christine Jones |
| Costume | Katrina Lindsay |
| Music | Imogen Heap |
| Lighting | Neil Austin |
| Sound | Gareth Fry |
| Illusions and magic | Jamie Harrison |
| Musical supervision | Martin Lowe |
Produced by Sonia Friedman Productions and Colin Callender.
What the Critics Say About Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
It opened in 2016 to the best reviews any play has had in a generation, and the ratings tell you how unusual that was: five stars from The Telegraph, The Stage, The Independent and WhatsOnStage, four from The Guardian, and four and three-quarters from The Times, which chose that number as a nod to Platform 9¾.
The Telegraph's Dominic Cavendish went in a sceptic and came out writing that "British theatre hasn't known anything like it for decades." The Stage called it "a truly game-changing production."
They praised the same thing almost without exception: that the magic is done live, by theatre, rather than by a screen.
There was one recurring reservation, and it is worth knowing now: several critics found the plot long and knotty. A decade later, the producers are cutting the show from five hours to under three.
Read the full round-up in what the critics say.
Gallery
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
Palace Theatre