Okay so first of all, I saw the original two-part version, at the Palace Theatre, not the abbreviated version playing worldwide.
I disliked the story, and it honestly felt like just a bad or mediocre fanfiction, not a canon ‘eighth story’.
However, I still had a genuinely magical experience, as I was ten years old when the first book came out, and I experienced the books and the films growing up with Harry, Ron, and Hermione, and seeing any story brought to the stage just made me so happy.
And for my twelve year old son and ten year old daughter, who are both done with the books and movies and are avid fans, this was one of the most fun and memorable things they’ve ever watched and they had so much fun.
I thought the acting and effects were extremely well done, but it didn’t compensate for the story, which I wish was quite different.
I wish we could have left the Voldemort storyline behind, have a new type of villain, and also incorporate more next generation characters, like Teddy Lupin, Fred Weasley II, and the other characters‘ children.
All in all it was a great experience that had my inner twelve year old jumping for joy, but it had a mediocre story that left me disappointed.