Review- Potted Potter- ABA Productions
19-9-12
By: Satoshi Kyo
“All seven Harry Potter books in seventy hilarious minutes!” says the ad. Well that was not the case, except the hilarious part.
In the tradition of shows like The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged), The Complete History of America (abridged) and The Bible: The Complete Word of God (abridged), all of which have been performed in Hong Kong. Potted Potter attempted to tell the story of all seven Harry Potter books in a series of goofy comedy sketches. This time, however, it came in the form of an eager expert (performed by Gary Trainor) trying to present the highlights of the books while a wicked faker (performed by Jesse Briton) sabotages his each and every effort.
This parody, written and created by Daniel Clarkson and Jefferson Turner, started with Briton not getting the right set and the 20 finest actors needed to play the more than 300 characters in J.K. Rowling's books. In lieu of this, the audience would just have to deal with Briton’s silly antics as he tries to be everything and everybody, while Trainor gets cross and indignant.
The silliness factor in the show was off the charts. It was not a show of sophisticated wit or intelligent satire. For the adults, it was “interesting” at best. For the kids however, judging from their loud and boisterous laughter, it must be hilarious!
The highlight of the show must be the Quidditch, the competitive game played by the rival factions Gryffindor and Slytherin. In this case, the audience was divided into two competing teams as they battle out a beach ball. For a moment, the kids were able to release some of their pent-up energy to good effect. For a moment, the scene reminded me of Russian clown Slava Polunin’s Snowshow that was presented in 1997 in Hong Kong to mediocre effect.
Overall, it was a children’s show. Bring your or somebody else’s kid to it and hopefully, you will be blissfully content to see them laugh so heartily.
Potted Potter is playing at the HKAPA, Drama Theatre in Wanchai September 18th-30th at various showtimes. A re-run of this production will be appearing in Hong Kong from September 24th-28th. For more information, click here.
Comments
vlad
Of course it's a children's show. It's a children's book series. Lighten up! Good catch on the Slava Polunin! That was in the the off-broadaway review too!
20 September 2012Brad
It's called potted potter, what did you expect Shakespeare?
20 September 2012HKMom
I took my kids to this show and they really liked it. What I did not like was the ticket price. Too expensive for only one hour of entertainment.
23 September 2012Amy
Such an expensive show. Not worth the hype as it's only an hour long. Better to stay at home and watch the Harry Potter movies with your kids on Netflix.
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