Review: UnPlotted Potter

Adelaide Fringe

Comedy group Scriptease’s UnPlotted Potter is an improvised one-hour performance detailing the untold (and unofficial) stories of JK Rowling’s magical ‘Potterverse’. ★★★★

Friday March 10, 2017 Comments

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The audience is presented with the goblet of fire – a cup containing 200 names of minor characters from the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts universe. Three audience members are invited to choose a character and from there the audience decides who the story will be about.

On this evening, we struck gold with cult Harry Potter anti-hero Peeves, the Hogwarts poltergeist.

The performance started slowly, as most smart improv acts do, with the actors feeling their way around trying to find an angle or plot device. Their descriptive language and movement placed the audience within each scene.

The story took us on a journey into what it would be like if Peeves was fired from Hogwarts as its resident poltergeist. We found ourselves in a poltergeist employment agency, which managed to find Peeves a job at the Ministry of Magic, as “the government have always been in the business of playing tricks and abusing people”.

The plot moved unpredictably but no one thing ever shook the performers. The story flowed, as did the laughter. Nothing was allowed to stagnate; scenes were cut acutely or played out to their conclusion without losing pace or comic timing. It kept the audience, as well as the performers, on their toes.

With a couple of swearwords chucked in for good measure, the story concluded with Peeves safe and sound back at Hogwarts.

UnPlotted Potter is a lovely piece of improv comedy, with each performer bringing their own personality into the Potter universe. The show has room to grow, but is a night of guaranteed laughs, whether you’re a huge “Potthead” or a casual fan.

Four stars

UnPlotted Potter is at Live From Tandanya until March 19.

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<h1>Review: UnPlotted Potter</h1>

Comedy group Scriptease’s UnPlotted Potter is an improvised one-hour performance detailing the untold (and unofficial) stories of JK Rowling’s magical ‘Potterverse’. ★★★★

																		<address><a href="https://inreview.com.au/contributors/sebastian-cooper/" class="author">Sebastian Cooper</a></address>
											
							The audience is presented with the goblet of fire – a cup containing 200 names of minor characters from the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts universe. Three audience members are invited to choose a character and from there the audience decides who the story will be about.
On this evening, we struck gold with cult Harry Potter anti-hero Peeves, the Hogwarts poltergeist.
The performance started slowly, as most smart improv acts do, with the actors feeling their way around trying to find an angle or plot device. Their descriptive language and movement placed the audience within each scene.
The story took us on a journey into what it would be like if Peeves was fired from Hogwarts as its resident poltergeist. We found ourselves in a poltergeist employment agency, which managed to find Peeves a job at the Ministry of Magic, as “the government have always been in the business of playing tricks and abusing people”.
The plot moved unpredictably but no one thing ever shook the performers. The story flowed, as did the laughter. Nothing was allowed to stagnate; scenes were cut acutely or played out to their conclusion without losing pace or comic timing. It kept the audience, as well as the performers, on their toes.
With a couple of swearwords chucked in for good measure, the story concluded with Peeves safe and sound back at Hogwarts.
UnPlotted Potter is a lovely piece of improv comedy, with each performer bringing their own personality into the Potter universe. The show has room to grow, but is a night of guaranteed laughs, whether you’re a huge “Potthead” or a casual fan.
Four stars
UnPlotted Potter is at Live From Tandanya until March 19.
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