West End Production of HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD Will Become One Part
This aims to make the production more accessible and to allow more audiences to experience the story with one ticket and one visit to the theatre.
By: Stephi Wild Jan. 28, 2026
After ten years in the West End as a two-part theatrical event, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child will evolve into a single performance-format. The production will move to the version of the show currently performed by companies around the globe, including the Broadway production in New York City, where the reimagined one-part production premiered in 2021 and is currently breaking all major box-office records. The one-part production has a running time of 2 hours and 55 minutes including one interval.
Booking for the two-part production in London has now extended through 20 September 2026, which will be the culmination of a celebratory final year that honours a decade of extraordinary achievement, innovation and creative collaboration. The one-part production will reopen at the Palace Theatre on 6 October 2026.
Producers Sonia Friedman and Colin Callender said “When Harry Potter and the Cursed Child premiered in the West End in 2016, it redefined what was possible in the art of stagecraft. This July, the production celebrates its 10th anniversary, an unprecedented milestone for a play performed in two parts and we are immensely proud of the indelible mark it has made on the theatrical and cultural landscape over the past decade.
From the outset, the Palace Theatre has been the perfect home for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. The bond between play and theatre has grown inseparable, together becoming a London landmark.
What was created there was the result of the artistic genius of an extraordinary creative team, inspired by J.K. Rowling's beloved wizarding world, and helmed by our fearless and visionary director John Tiffany, who brought to vivid life on stage the words immortalized in the script by our magnificent playwright, Jack Thorne. Our beautiful play has endured over the past ten years because of the remarkable actors, backstage and technical teams we surround ourselves with, artists united by vision, rigour, trust and a profound love for live storytelling.
But as new Harry Potter fans discover these stories every day, drawn in by their enduring power and the deep affection for these characters, we felt this milestone moment was the right time to make the production more accessible than ever before. Now running at under three hours, the reimagined production retains its scale, illusions and theatrical magic, and emotional depth, while allowing more audiences to experience the story in a single visit. By shifting our beloved original staging into this stunning version, beautifully reworked by the same extraordinary creative and technical teams, we are opening our Palace doors for even more audiences to experience this unforgettable journey with just one ticket in hand.”
Theatre owner Nica Burns said “So exciting that 2026 celebrates the 10th anniversary of the incredible experience that is Harry Potter and the Cursed Child at the iconic Palace Theatre. This new chapter gives audiences the chance to experience this magical, roller coaster story in just one thrilling performance. All of us at the Palace look forward to celebrating the show's 20th birthday!”
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child received its world premiere at the Palace Theatre opening in July 2016 to great critical acclaim, marking a groundbreaking moment in UK theatre. The spellbinding original production was the recipient of a record-breaking 9 Laurence Olivier Awards, the most ever received for a play, plus multiple other UK theatre awards, and now holds a record 60 major honours globally. Amassing over 8000 hours of performance time in London over the last 10 years, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child continues to captivate audiences in the West End where it has now been seen by 2.2 million people, including over 300,000 first time theatregoers.
