#I'm sure the next cast will also be completely wonderful buuuut

[xoruffitup]

Jamie Parker, Stuart Ramsey; Harry Meta

It’s really, extraordinarily hard to imagine anyone else playing Harry on stage in that same indescribably devastating and delightful way as Jamie Parker. The man has dedicated incredible effort to studying the books and all facets of Harry’s character, and it really shows. It will be interesting to start getting reports about the new Harry after the cast change, but in the meantime, I wanted to reflect on the two portrayals we’ve had so far, and how they’ve respectively presented Harry within the Cursed Child period.

I’ll start by saying that I’ve only seen Stuart once, so my recollections regarding him might not be as complete or reliable. I would love people to contribute their own Stuart accounts if you feel I’ve missed major things about Stuart’s presentation! My one Stuart performance was on 17/12, so obviously I also can’t account for the variations in his Harry throughout his different performances.

The lasting impression I keep from Jamie’s Harry is his intensity - raging anger, total helpless despair, barely-restrained fear that’s so visceral it threatens to make his world come apart. Jamie almost seems to smolder real heat on the stage in the argument scenes with Albus. His breakdown during his final confrontation with Dumbledore is so thorough, sometimes his sobbing almost threatens to drown out Dumbledore’s voice. And after we get to see the raw heart of his own lingering pain and unresolved trauma, which his temper so resolutely and automatically sought to disguise - then, his final reconciliation scene with Albus shows a father so utterly unguarded, honest, and sincere, each word visibly touches and affects Harry every bit as it does Albus. His journey and the range of emotional extremes he struggles through makes you admire, empathize, and feel such fierce affection for him, it’s as if he achieved something as epic as defeating Voldemort all over again. For Harry, who’s never been exceedingly good with handling strong emotions, this WAS a feat of even greater scale.

For a viewer used to Jamie’s intensity - his shouting in the argument scenes and shaking and screaming in the nightmare scenes - Stuart at first seems underwhelming by comparison. But it took me until the play’s final scene to fully appreciate the fact that Stuart plays his own, unique version of Harry. A version more subtle and reserved. I did now and then feel that Stuart was consciously reenacting Jamie’s deliveries (sometimes not quite achieving the same impact and sometimes successfully), but other times he would make distinct and unique interpretative decisions of his own.

In the most general comparison, I found Stuart’s Harry more lost and helpless,  overwhelmed by a total lack of direction. Yes, he’s angry at Albus for making stupid decisions with the time turner, but the anger doesn’t EXPLODE out of him like Jamie. It’s there, but rather than lashing out to disguise and compensate for his own vulnerability, it comes more tangibly from that unstable inner place. He’s more hurt by his son’s actions, by his lack of trust. In scenes with Ginny and with Draco - questioning his own decisions, wondering why the boys ran away or where they could be - he seemed softer, both in the literal sense of his voice, but also simply his mannerisms. Rather than Jamie’s stiff shoulders, buttoned-up waistcoat, and folded arms, Stuart didn’t have those walls. Rather than steaming with anger or shaking in terror like Jamie does, Stuart seemed utterly adrift in the terrible things going on around him. Without his blustery temper to cover things up, it was even clearer the whole time how alone, how remorseful, and how terribly helpless Harry felt while Albus was gone and in danger. Stuart makes you remember so clearly that, to Harry, the worst thing in the world is having loved ones under threat.

What truly touched me in Stuart’s performance was his final scene with Albus in the graveyard. This was Harry more gentle and tender with his son than I’ve ever seen him. This performance was the first time I cried during this scene, because the regret right alongside the hope and the unparalleled love, as Harry took Albus by the shoulders and told him “that heart is a good one” - you remembered these soft tones during Harry’s darkest moments in earlier scenes, and you can feel how massive these soft, gentle words are, how great their healing power is for both father and son, and how holy of a moment this is for their relationship.

(Figures, Jamie upped the ante the next time I saw the play and then also made me cry during this scene when he broke down himself in the middle of it. But regardless, Stuart’s performance in this scene was unforgettably moving.)

I’m extremely grateful for the opportunity to have seen both of these great actors play Harry, and I’m SO happy Jamie’s performance has been recognized by an Olivier. Well-deserved is an understatement, when the poor man shouts himself hoarse and weeps to the point of heartbreak every single day.

While Jamie is sparks and knives to your heart, Stuart is subtle in a way that takes longer to recognize its effect upon you. But I definitely have to say that in terms of emotional impact, it’s hard to imagine anyone topping Jamie. He brings whole new layers of personality, pain, and vulnerability to the character, while remaining every second and every inch recognizable as the Harry we all know and love. He just takes your breath away with how much you hurt along with him, and a good portion of the biggest loops on the show’s harrowing emotional rollercoaster ride must be attributed to him alone. 

I think the biggest part of my Harry heart will always stay true to Jamie, but I’m also looking forward to seeing the new takes on grown-up, struggling-father Harry Potter we’ll get in the future. I can’t help hoping they all take pages from Jamie’s book, since we couldn’t have asked for a more stellar first example.

I know plenty of show reports have been written focusing on Jamie’s and Stuart’s performances, but I would love to read some more comparisons and reflections on their differences in interpretation! :)