Potted Potter: Good for Kids, But Not for Me

By Jonathan Jones
Saturday, May 26, 2012

One hour; seven lengthy novels; two performers; minimal props. What could go wrong? In the tradition of The Complete Works of Shakespeare (abridged), The Complete History of America (abridged), and The Bible: The Complete Word of God (abridged) by the Reduced Shakespeare Company, we get Potted Potter.

In defense of the creators, Daniel Clarkson and Jefferson Turner, I would be remiss if I didn't point out that something is definitely lost in transition in moving this work from its British home to an American audience. While Potter enthusiasts of any age may have some investment (hence my attendance), this really appeals to a juvenile mentality (which I am apparently over), and more specifically, a British juvenile mentality. There were many a joke that this American knew to be inappropriate for the largely juvenile audience (typical of British TYA) and there were a number of Brtishisms that were indecipherable to an untrained ear (having spent a lot of time in the UK, I knew the references, but I was a minority at this matinee). 

Beyond that, the piece just wasn't that good. There was a lot of running around and silliness that would have been better channeled through legitimate parody of the characters and circumstances of the books. Instead, we are treated too extended commentary on the performances and lack of production values - commentary which quickly grew stale and largely stunned an eager and willing audience into large swaths of uncomfortable silence.

Potted Potter is playing at the Little Shubert Theatre. Tickets can be purchased here.