Broken Legs Blog

I don’t normally write about improv shows that I’ve seen on this blog (if I did, there would be twice as many posts!). But I absolutely loved this show that I saw last weekend, from Edinburgh-based improv group The Spontaneous Players, who performed the “lost” Harry Potter book.

The four players (Will Naameh, Mara Joy, Sam Irving and Paul Connolly) swiftly and expertly switched between well-known (and lesser-known) Harry Potter characters, and began by taking some different suggestions from the audience and doing some very quick scenes. These scenes were just a hint at what was to come, as Hagrid dated a sparkly octopus, Dobby became the bank manager of Gringotts and Harry and Ron had mid-life crises.

Then into the main story – which explored a secret Hogwarts founder, Henry Hoar, and his secret Hogwarts house, the Hoar-house… The jokes came thick and fast, filled to the brim with obscure Potter-references that made this perfect for hardcore fans (such as myself). I particularly enjoyed constant references to Hufflepuff as “the house that no one cares about”. At one point, when someone asks McGonagall if any students were hurt, she responded “just a few unnamed Hufflepuffs”.

Several plot threads were set running by the players – a love triangle between Harry, Ron and Hermione, Dumbledore deciding to switch things up by making McGonagall the school nurse and putting Mrs Norris in charge of transfiguration, and Voldemort plotting a new way to kill Harry by luring him into the Secret Chamber of Hoar-House. Meanwhile, Luna was trying to fit in with the girls, and there were lots of people drinking milk (for some reason). All of these threads were tied up nicely at the end, giving the enigma that the entire thing had been planned in advance (although of course it wasn’t!).

Voldemort, getting fed up of Ron interrupting him, decided to kill him – so that resolved the love triangle. And McGonagall found her calling as a therapist rather than a nurse, offering therapy to students after Voldemort’s attack. Luna managed to defeat Voldemort by throwing milk at him (turns out he’s lactose intolerant), earning the trust of her friends (and a relationship with the ghost of Cedric Diggory).

Sound a bit weird? It was, but a lot of fun at the same time! The entire play was accompanied by Jenny Laahs on the keyboard, who provided transitions between each scene and made the whole show feel more professional. Unfortunately, this show will never be seen again – but I look forward to the next time the Spontaneous Players are in town, to see an entirely different “lost” Harry Potter tale. Expelliarmus!

Tom Morley, October 2023