The Pottermore Correspondent recently posted a two part (1, 2) interview with some of the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child creative team. They spoke with director John Tiffany and writer Jack Thorne about their creative collaboration with J.K. Rowling. They talk about their first meeting with Rowling where they decided on a plot for the play:

Right now, John and Jack are on a lunch break between workshops for the Cursed Child. We’re sitting at a table covered in scripts, highlighters and blunt lead pencils.

‘I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I’d do anything he asked me to do,’ Jack says, pointing his thumb back at John.

‘Oh, stop it,’ John says and turns to me. ‘We went to Edinburgh to Jo’s house – Jack and I. Then I sort of watched the love affair begin. You know, it’s like taking your best friend to meet your new partner and then realising… Well, it was two writers meeting, you don’t get a look in.’

‘I’d read all the books in my twenties and I’d go to the cinema and watch all the films by myself. I was deeply in love with Potter already, so the chance to do this…’ says Jack, like he still can’t believe J.K. Rowling has given him characters from those books and films to write onto the stage.

‘We started talking about ideas and her generosity in the way she listened to what was inside our heads, and then fed into that with her brilliant mind, was incredible. You were very clear back then, John, that you didn’t want to do something historical.’

‘No prequels!’ says John, echoing J.K. Rowling’s Twitter account. ‘But also, I knew from seeing the excitement in the kids I’d shared the books with that we had to bring darkness back. There had to be new jeopardy.’

Tickets for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child will be available to buy online only from HarryPotterthePlay.com from 11am GMT on Wednesday 28 October, on a first come first served basis to all who have registered for priority booking, and at 11am GMT on Friday 30 October to the general public.

Currently, in-park guests at Universal Studios Hollywood can purchase authentic merchandise, including wands, robes and other collectibles from “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter,” in the Features Presentation shop.

From the press release:

With each click of the mouse, guests will venture further into the land to uncover such specialty retail shops as Honeydukes™, Ollivanders™, Owl Post™, Zonko’s™ Joke Shop, Wiseacre’s Wizarding Equipment, Dervish and Banges, Gladrags Wizardwear and Filch’s Emporium of Confiscated Goods™, along with such famous eateries as Three Broomsticks™ and Hog’s Head pub.As their virtual journey takes them through Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, visitors will become acquainted with such iconic locations as Professor Dumbledore’s office, the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom and the Portrait Gallery.  Commentary from the cast, including Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter), Emma Watson (Hermione Granger) and Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley), as well as Mark Woodbury, President of Universal Creative for Universal Parks & Resorts, is featured throughout the virtual tour.

And finally, guests will have a chance to explore the multidimensional thrill ride, “Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey,” which will make its U.S. debut in hyper-realistic 3D-HD to further immerse guests in the already captivating storyline, and “Flight of the Hippogriff,” which will be Universal Studios Hollywood’s first outdoor rollercoaster.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child officially opens at the Palace Theatre London in July 2016, with preview performances from late May 2016. Tickets will go on sale October 30th, for more information on ticket prices and preview tickets, click here. It is one play presented in two Parts, which are intended to be seen in order on the same day (matinee and evening) or on two consecutive evenings.

Based on an original new story by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is a new play by Jack Thorne. It is the eighth story in the Harry Potter series and the first official Harry Potter story to be presented on stage.

It was always difficult being Harry Potter and it isn’t much easier now that he is an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband and father of three school-age children.

While Harry grapples with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs, his youngest son Albus must struggle with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted. As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn the uncomfortable truth: sometimes, darkness comes from unexpected places.

ABC Family is bringing you an exciting weekend of movies with Harry Potter FUNDAY, starting TONIGHT and lasting ALL weekend long! From Friday, October 16 – Sunday, October 18 you can watch all the Potter films (except Goblet of Fire) and create your own magic on social media! Fans can visit fundayapp.com to Potterfy their social media profiles with art inspired by their favorite witches and wizards. The app also allows viewers to create memes of their all-time favorite Harry Potter moments.

The schedule is as follows:

Friday, October 16th, 2015:

• 3:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m., ET/PT – Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (repeats on Saturday, October 17th at 7:00 a.m. ET/PT)
• 7:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m., ET/PT – Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (repeats on Saturday, October 17th at 10:30 a.m., ET/PT)

Saturday, October 17th, 2015:

• 2:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m., ET/PT – Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (repeats on Sunday, October 18th at 7:00 a.m., ET/PT)
• 5:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m., ET/PT – Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (repeats on Sunday, October 18th at 10:15 a.m., ET/PT)
• 8:30 p.m. – 12:00 a.m., ET/PT – Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (repeats on Sunday, October 18th at 1:30pm ET/PT)

Sunday, October 18th, 2015:

• 5:15 p.m. – 9:00 p.m., ET/PT – Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
• 9:00 p.m. – 12:00 a.m., ET/PT – Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2

As they do every Winter, Warner Bros. Studio Tour has announced their special feature for Hogwarts in the snow. Harry Potter fans are invited to discover how special effects experts make snow that never melts, how set dressers transform locations for Christmas scenes, and how flames are created without fire, as Warner Bros. Studio Tour London opens the doors on its most magical makeover yet. Hogwarts in the Snow will run from Friday 13th November – Sunday 31st January 2016. Tickets must be pre-booked and all extra activities are included in the ticket price.

This festive season, film fans are invited to discover how special effects experts make snow that never melts, how set dressers transform locations for Christmas scenes, and how flames are created without fire, as Warner Bros. Studio Tour London opens the doors on its most magical makeover yet.

Launching on Friday 13th November and running for a limited time only, Hogwarts in the Snow will offer visitors the opportunity to see the Harry Potter film series’ most iconic sets decorated for festive scenes. Eight Christmas trees will line the Great Hall, the Gryffindor common room will be dressed for the season and a blanket of filmmaking snow will be meticulously applied to the majestic Hogwarts castle model.

In the Hogwarts Great Hall, visitors will spot wreaths and garlands, trees decked with golden baubles and topped with witches on miniature broomsticks, as well as a replica feast. One side of the Great Hall will be dedicated to savoury props, featuring roast turkeys, hams studded with cherries and bowls of potatoes, while the other will be devoted to sweet treats including flaming Christmas puddings and iced cakes.

For the first time this year, the Goblet of Fire will emerge from its original jewelled casket, rigged by special effects experts, and will be ‘lit’ with flames that change from blue to red. Featured in the fourth film, the impressive goblet was used as a way to select champions for the Triwizard Tournament. During production, the picture-perfect hero version was sculpted from a single piece of wood by the Prop Making Department, while a special effects replica was moulded in fibreglass and painted to look identical to its wooden counterpart.

The Hogwarts castle model will be transformed for the occasion by a team led by Model Effects Supervisor José Granell, who worked on the Harry Potter film series. The snow is hand-sprinkled onto the incredibly-detailed model and is made from a combination of granulated paper and grains of salt – chosen because it clumps like real snowflakes and catches the light like ice. Visitors will be able to touch samples of the different types of ‘snow’ used during production, each selected for its ability to float like falling snow, crunch under foot or glisten in the light.

The scale model was first built for Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, with a team of 80 model makers working for almost seven months to create the original version. The crew updated it over the years when the story required it (the bridge was added for Prisoner of Azkaban, the Owlery for Goblet of Fire, and the Astronomy Tower for Half-Blood Prince), and the model was used for nearly every exterior shot of Hogwarts seen in the first six Harry Potter films. The specialist work was so detailed that it would have taken one person more than 74 years to complete!

Fireplaces throughout the attraction (including those in the Leaky Cauldron and Great Hall) will be ‘lit’ with special effects fire, created by filmmakers using a combination of water vapour and lighting effects. The Gryffindor common room and Weasley kitchen will also be dressed for the occasion with streamers, Christmas crackers and oranges.

Festive facts:

• The food featured in the feasts throughout the early films was real; however, the Set Decoration Department later used artificial food created from powder and resin.
• While the film series’ Christmas scenes feel very festive, many of them were actually filmed at unexpected times of year (even during summer) depending on the production schedule.
• Christmas puddings were rigged with real flames for the Great Hall’s Christmas feast, with gas pipes hidden along the floor and running up into the tables. This special effect will be recreated at the Studio Tour this year, especially for the attraction’s festive feature.

Audible has released the first two chapters of Robert Galbraith’s Career of Evil through Twitter! Career of Evil is Galbraith’s third novel in the Cormoran Strike series. The book will be released one week from today, on October 20th. Listen to Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 on Soundcloud.

When a mysterious package is delivered to Robin Ellacott, she is horrified to discover that it contains a woman’s severed leg. Her boss, private detective Cormoran Strike, is less surprised but no less alarmed. There are four people from his past who he thinks could be responsible – and Strike knows that any one of them is capable of sustained and unspeakable brutality.

With the police focusing on the one suspect Strike is increasingly sure is not the perpetrator, he and Robin take matters into their own hands, and delve into the dark and twisted worlds of the other three men. But as more horrendous acts occur, time is running out for the two of them….

Career of Evil is the third in the highly acclaimed series featuring private detective Cormoran Strike and his assistant Robin Ellacott. A fiendishly clever mystery with unexpected twists around every corner, it is also a gripping story of a man and a woman at a crossroads in their personal and professional lives.