Many years ago now, I was incredibly impressed with a one man show called One Man Star Wars. Ever since then, I have been on the lookout for the man who performed that incredibly amusing piece, hoping that he would return to Wellington one Comedy Fest, or for something similar to arrive.
Because, you see, I live in terror of trying something that is meant to be funny but actually turns out to be totally naff. I have seen a few comedians who have left me stony faced and in mild pain with the valiant yet vain efforts to try and amuse, and for their sakes as well as mine, I have tried to avoid them and so have ended up avoiding going to see most of them, and have mainly gone to see “safe” shows that I already know I will probably like. However, a few months ago, I thought that I had found something “unknown” that might fit the bill.
Potted Potter bills itself a 70 minute production which recounts each of the books in the Harry Potter series, devoting around 10 minutes to each of them. This tickled my fancy for several reasons, mainly the mocking of something that I both enjoyed but could stand to see ridiculed a little, and the fact it might actually be funny.
It started off, in the dark and fairly dingy Opera theatre, in a bad way. First, I was rather disappointed with the seats, as we had paid top dollar for what I thought were prime seats but which ended up being just behind some people with very tall hair and so were not the best for viewing what was going on. Then, the show started with the trope where one of the characters claimed not to have read any of the books or know anything about them, which is a conceit I am not often willing to tolerate in these kinds of things. However, I settled myself down a little, forgave them this niggle, and, ducking my head from side to side to try and avoid the big headed man in front of me, I let the show wash over me.
And it was fun. No terrible pun or chance to play Quiddich was left unturned, and the audience was involved several times as the tale of the teenage wizard was told. At one stage, a couple of kids were brought up on stage to show their mad skillz (a few adults tried, but they were rebuffed) and the audience at large was involved on several occasions too, though mainly as an object of ridicule.
The two performers who ran the show (and occasionally acted as well), Gary Trainor and Jesse Briton, were of the breed who always sound and look like they are having fun – and can look frustrated or angry when their orchestrated circumstances turn against them once again. The major props were mainly ignored for the most part of the show, though much love was given to and for the few puppets that showed their shy heads (the Dobby the House Elf puppet was my favourite – and looked nothing like the Dobby from the films). I was never sure if the odd pause and claim that something was “unscripted” actually was so, but these didn’t distract from the momentum of events and the speed of the gags.
So, in the end, the rather tatty looking environment of the theatre worked for the benefit of the performance, with the occasional bout of rowdiness and stomping of feet unhindered by any sense of keeping the environment in a well maintained state. The audience really got into it (a mentally young couple to my left appreciated it and commented on what was going all the way through it, to the occasional death stare from me) and the lively, amiable spirit of the show, constantly changing, never slowing, made the whole thing almost worth the ticket price. The heads threw the only spanners in the works - though I kind of wanted to throw spanners at them.
Verdict: Potted Potter was lots of fun for fans of Harry Potter, though I am sure those unfamiliar with the novels would have been swept up in the breathless energy and wild zaniness of the show. The main actors were brilliant and I hope they enjoyed their visit to New Zealand, though quite possibly, after all that running around after their show, they may just have ended up heading back to their hotels and crashing down in exhausted heaps. 8 expecto patronums out of 10.
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