John Tiffany

FROM IRAQ WAR PLAY BLACK WATCH TO CLOSETED FOOTBALLERS IN THE PASS, VIA HIT MUSICAL ONCE, JOHN TIFFANY IS THE MAN WHOSE VISION HAS CREATED MANY OF THE UK’S MOST PRAISED PRODUCTIONS. THIS YEAR HE ADDED ANOTHER HIT TO HIS CANON WITH HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD

WORDS: CLIFF JOANNOU PHOTOGRAPHS: LEON CSERNOHLAVEK

‘A LOVE LETTER TO THE ATRE’

CULTURE AWARD

Transforming one of the world’s biggest franchises into a theatrical production is a bit of a challenge, to put it mildly. When that franchise comes with an army of fans who would sooner turn on its creator, JK Rowling, than see the characters they adore so fiercely, done a perceived injustice, then you are almost set up to fail. You only need to look at the reaction on Twitter when Rowling revealed Dumbledore to be gay to see how emotive the legions can get. When it comes to anything Harry Potter, they can be somewhat feisty.

It’s testament to director John Tiffany’s vision that Harry Potter “the play” is an immense success.

The first hurdle to overcome was informing the world that the next incarnation of their mythical world of witches and wizards wasn’t going to come in the form of a film, but to a stage in London’s West End. “It’s like opening Star Wars in one little cinema,” John says.

Without doubt it’s a bold move, delivering a universally loved story through an intimate medium which is only ever enjoyed by a thousand fans at a time. “People couldn’t get their heads around the fact that it wasn’t a film, they just dismiss theatre as a cultural presence. It’s like when the book [of the play’s script] came out — which we had to do otherwise it would have been pirated — people were like: ‘what’s this? It only takes four hours to read!’ Well, it’s a play, this is what they look like.”