Potter show casts manic spell
THEATRE
Potted Potter
3.5 stars
Heath Ledger Theatre
REVIEW MELANIE CORAM
Potted Potter gallops through the plots of all seven of the books about the boy, with comic diversions and detours along the way.
James Percy is our Potterhead guide, smug in his knowledge and exasperated with his partner, Benjamin Stratton, for failing to take enough interest. Percy, as the expert, gets to play Harry Potter. Stratton, for his sins, must play every other character.
Potted Potter sits between being a satire and a sanctioned Potter spin-off. It is pitched as an unauthorised parody but its commitment to Rowling's universe is so affectionate it could be mistaken for having her stamp of approval.
In 2005, Daniel Clarkson and Jefferson Turner created a five-minute street show recapping the first five books. As Rowling kept writing, Dan and Jeff kept expanding their manic, hilarious show.
The street performance roots remain in the 70-minute theatre show, with sparse design and fenetic pace. Some of the throwaway lines feel obviously scripted but when Stratton and Percy truly improvise the show takes off.
The audience is encouraged to participate - including in a game of Quidditch - but the Perth opening night crowd proved rebellious.
The show ran away from the actors in the second half as the audience got more audacious and the actors lost momentum.
"This is not a conversation," Percy shouted back at yet another interruption. At another point, the peanut gallery helped him recover his lines when the intrusions became too disruptive and his train of thought ran off the tracks.
As in all types of fan fiction, much of the joy comes from being among the in-crowd and getting the in-jokes.
The show claims not to discriminate - those who haven't read the books are welcome.
I was among them, albeit with a 10-year-old chaperone cueing me when to laugh at a Quidditch joke whizzing over my head.
Potted Potter runs until Sunday.
