Settling down to watch Potted Potter, a parody play on the Harry Potter series, I felt out of place as a sad Muggle who has only ever watched the Harry Potter movies, but never read a single novel.
Whimsical music filled the theatre and smoke danced across a brightly lit stage at the Fredericton Playhouse. I was sitting next to a die-hard fan of the Harry Potter series, and she asked me if I was a fan as well. I chuckled and said that I’ve only ever watched the movies, to which she responded with a sneer not too dissimilar to the one Severus Snape gives his students.
The set was composed of cheap dollar store props and a backdrop of a tropical beach that represented the Forbidden Forest. Nothing performers Daniel Clarkson and James Percy used had any relevance to Harry Potter at all, and the costumes they wore were not fit for a kindergarten play.
For example, when Percy asked Clarkson to bring out Dumbledore’s phoenix, Fawkes, Clarkson revealed that he had actually blown the entire budget on a trip to Phoenix to get a fork.
The intentional lack of professionalism was a hilarious way for Clarkson and Percy to portray all seven Harry Potter novels in one show. Percy played the role of Harry Potter, and tried his best to do justice for their source material. Clarkson played all the other characters, including Ron, Hermione, Dumbledore, and Voldemort, but pretended to have absolutely no background knowledge on the Harry Potter series.
Clarkson would make jokes and pop culture references, completely destroying the way characters in the Harry Potter series have been portrayed. It was hilarious to see Percy get increasingly frustrated with his partner, referring to him as a ‘moron’ or ‘bumbling nincompoop.’
They had a game of Quidditch played between the audience, two volunteers and the actors. The crowd was split in two, with me on the side of Gryffindor and the other side on Slytherin. As the two volunteers were busy looking for the golden snitch, I was hit in the side of the head with a beach-ball, or the Quaffle, making me instantly wish I was Team Hufflepuff.
Percy, who was dressed as a ludicrous golden snitch, actually had his legs swept right out from under him by a girl no older than 11 years old, which may have actually been the highlight of the entire show.
“I see this is how you play Quidditch in Fredericton,” said Clarkson.
The most remarkable thing about the entire show in my opinion, was the dynamic between Clarkson and Percy. They were clearly very good friends, and the way they played off each other was both incredibly funny and heartwarming. The best part for me was the fact that despite performing Potted Potter numerous times across the world, they still managed to surprise one another and often break down in fits of genuine laughter on stage.
