Words: Elodie Marriott 

5 stars 

“Harry you selfish prick, buying all the sweets from the trolley.” 

For an hour, the cast and their on-stage pianist work their magic (a combination of talent, genuine enjoyment, and thorough knowledge of the franchise) to concoct an exceptional improv show that introduces unexpected references into the Wizarding World. According to HP lore, the year is 1997, and while they’re happy to revise history to enable Voldemort to look up ‘rizz’ on Urban Dictionary, apparently there’s nothing they can do about Princess Diana. 

The accuracy of the impressions-a highlight being nasally Snape-ramps up the absurdity, especially when they insert classic fanfic tropes into the narrative. Ron and Hermione’s only one sleeping bag situation should definitely have been reported to the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office. Other skits that even ‘obliviate’ couldn’t make the crowd forget, included a school-wide rendezvous in the Forbidden Forest, which would have been just as illicit as the location if the cast hadn’t frantically aged-up The Boy Who Lived. 

Spontaneous Potter is a must-watch for any muggle who wants to see their favourite fantasy world enhanced before their eyes. Though it’s guaranteed that the direction of this unofficial expansion always leads somewhere supernaturally explicit. 

Spontaneous Potter: The Unofficial Improvised Parody
Orchard at Gilded Balloon at Appleton Tower 
19:15 
21 – 24 Aug