POTTED POTTER: THE UNAUTHORISED HARRY EXPERIENCE – FULL INTERVIEW WITH DANIEL CLARKSON
By Mark Morellini
Get ready Harry Potter fans!!! The anticipated wait is nearly over!! POTTED POTTER: THE UNAUTHORIZED HARRY EXPERIENCE arrives in town and Daniel Clarkson, one of the writers and creators of the show, will be performing in the Sydney show which is destined to be a sell-out hit!
Daniel Clarkson gives a candid interview about the show and his hysterical sense of humour radiates throughout…..
1). TELL ME ABOUT POTTED POTTER. IS THIS A TWO-MAN SHOW? IS THERE DIALOGUE OR JUST ACTIONS AND SOUND EFFECTS?
No there is no dialogue, the whole thing is done through mime and using owl noises as we try and tell the story from Hedwig’s point of view…
That of course is a complete lie! We very much talk, it was enough of a challenge for us tell all seven Harry Potter books in 70 minutes, so we allowed speaking!
But it is just a two man show, with Scott Hoatson playing Harry Potter, leaving myself to play over 360 other characters, that’s everyone from Snape to Hermione to Dobby to a full-size fire breathing dragon! You really do get your money’s worth!
2). HOW DID THE SHOW ORIGINATE?
It was initially a 15-minute show designed to entertain the queues of people waiting for the midnight release of book six at a London book store. It went down surprisingly well, so we developed it into an hour long show and took it up to the Edinburgh festival in Scotland. Our producer saw it there and approached us about doing a UK tour, we naturally bit his arm off! Then we were lucky enough to have a run in London’s West End. From there it played in New York and toured America, and now I have the chance to come to Australia! It’s all a little crazy, we’re just waiting for immigration to realise we’re just two mates messing around having far too much fun and kick us out!
3). WHY DO YOU THINK THIS PARODY HAS SPELLBOUNDED AUDIENCES AROUND THE GLOBE?
I put it down to my dashing good looks and smooth wit and charm! But these are complete delusions of grandeur! I think there is so much love for Harry Potter the world over, and our show definitely comes from that same place. We are huge Potter fans, and this is our loving homage to the boy wizard. With writing any parody, you have to have such a strong affection to your source material otherwise the show can become quite bitter and nasty! This is why you will never see ‘Potted Twilight’!
4). “ALL SEVEN HARRY POTTER BOOKS IN SEVENTY HILARIOUS MINUTES” – IS ANYTHING LEFT OUT? (LOL!!)
We try and cram in as much as we can, to be honest I think the first draft of the show was seven books in seven days there was just so much we wanted to include. We’ve managed to trim that down but still we have all our favourite characters and what we believe to be a first in any theatrical production, a live game of quidditch that everyone gets to play!
5). DO YOU KNOW WHETHER J.K ROWLING OR ANY OF THE CAST OF THE FILMS HAVE SEEN THIS SHOW? IF SO THEIR FEEDBACK?
There is a story, that has almost become myth: When we first did the show back in 2006 in Scotland, as we were packing up after the final show, a box office staff member came to us, looking upset, and had to admit to us that she had turned a lady away at the door, because we were sold out. It turns out that the customer in question was J.K. Rowling! So now there is one seat left off-sale, wherever we go, should J.K. turn up again. Maybe Sydney will be that place! Although if she did I’d be starstruck and spend the entire show giggling like a little girl.
6). IS IT EASY FOR ARDENT FANS OF THE BOOKS TO COMPREHEND WHAT’S GOING ON EACH MINUTE OF THE SHOW?
As fans of the books they don’t come more ardent than me, and I can comprehend what’s going on no problem, I’d say yes. It’s easy!
I think it was best summed up in one of the Potter Fan sites where they said we make the jokes that the fans would want to make themselves.
7). DO YOU HAVE TO BE A FAN OF THE HARRY POTTER BOOKS TO ENJOY THIS SHOW?
Not at all, there is a lot of pop culture references and jokes in the show, and if for some reason you haven’t read the books or seen the films, this is an ideal introduction into the wizarding world. You definitely don’t have to be a fan, but if you’re not, more importantly I think you do have to go and question your life choices and values!
8). WHY SHOULD THEATERGOERS COME ALONG AND WATCH THIS PARODY?
Quite simply, Potted Potter is a fast paced comedy romp in which Scott and I will attempt to perform all seven Harry Potter books in 70 minutes, with Scott playing Harry Potter leaving me to cover all 360 other characters, from Voldemort to Hermione (and once you’ve seen Hermione being portrayed by a six foot four Englishman you’ll never look at the world in quite the same way again!) Then if that’s not enough, we throw in a live game of quidditch … why are you still reading this and not running to the nearest box office to get your tickets?! (You can also get them online apparently, the wonders of modern technology!)
Sept 19–23. Seymour Centre, Cnr Cleveland St & City Rd, Chippendale. $69.90-$79.90+b.f. Tickets & Info: www.seymourcentre.com
