von Andrew Haydon
London, 28th/29th July 2016. "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" up-ends all good critical practice. Ordinarily, one would offer an outline of the plot, the staging, and the dramaturgy, and would be able to back-up the assertions with examples. For "Harry Potter..." there seems to be a requirement for secrecy, above and beyond the usual not giving away key plot twists requirement; outside the theatre, the Daily Telegraph review is hung – as if as an example to other critics – with chunks of its text redacted under #KeepTheSecrets tape, like a prematurely released MI6 document containing material that may still threaten national security.