Pottering with Potter!

As an actor Benjamin Stratton has travelled to the USA and Europe practising his craft but not as yet to Australia. This September he will visit Australia, including Tasmania and he will in more ways than usual be practising his craft, in fact the craft of the boy magician Harry Potter!

Benjamin is part of the duo that will perform ‘Potted Potter’ a comically condensed journey of all the books. The original production created by Daniel Clarkson and Jefferson Turner as a time filler as fans eagerly awaited the release of the sixth Harry Potter book at a London book store. The dramatic/comedic interlude was so well received that it was picked up by the Edinburgh festival and then further afield.

Benjamin is very much looking Forward to visiting Tasmania, having grown up with the animated Taz he is keen to meet a real Tassie devil and maybe check out MONA during his stay.

The production of ‘Potted Potter’ includes most of the major characters including the big three of Harry, Hermione and Ron while paring things down to the essentials such as the ‘love hate relationship between Harry and Voldemort’. Because of the time limits some characters unfortunately miss out, one being Professor McGonagall

although she will still be referenced in the play, as Benjamin says they aim for ‘damage limitation’.

Benjamin explains condensing the books is not as difficult as it might seem as most have a similar pattern of Harry returning to school and encountering some trouble, with the exception of Book four which, says Benjamin is a ‘more adventurous’ book than the others and offers some extra activity with ‘Quidditch’ and a’ fire breathing dragon’.

The play follows a core structure and then it is left to the various parings to add and embellish making it their own unique production. It helps, if like Benjamin and his duo partner Jamie, the duos are on the same wavelength.

I ask which is easier to stage, Potted Potter or the similarly succinct Shakespeare ‘The Complete Works of William Shakespeare Abridged’. Benjamin believes ‘Potted Potter ‘is easier to stage than ‘Shakespeare’ because all the ‘Harry Potter’ books have become so familiar in pop culture, whereas with Shakespeare most people are only familiar with the big plays not the minor works.

Oddly enough this comic duo both had more serious ambitions. Benjamin would have been a lawyer if not an actor and Jamie, well Jamie is a lawyer!

You can see ‘Potted Potter’ at Theatre Royal Tuesday 7 October to Thursday 9 October, 2014.
Paula Xiberras