Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is the official eighth Potter story and the first to be presented on stage.

It’s official. The Cursed Child is the eighth story in the Harry Potter series and we have the synopsis to share with you:

It was always difficult being Harry Potter and it isn’t much easier now that he is an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband and father of three school-age children.

While Harry grapples with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs, his youngest son Albus must struggle with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted. As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn the uncomfortable truth: sometimes, darkness comes from unexpected places.

When we last saw Harry he was waving off his eldest children, James Sirius and Albus Severus, at platform nine and three-quarters. This next exciting chapter in the story will explore Harry’s life after that moment for the very first time.

Written by Jack Thorne and directed by Olivier and Tony award-winner John Tiffany, the play is a brand new story written in collaboration with J.K. Rowling.

The play is in two parts, due to the ‘epic nature of the story’, and will feature a cast of more than 30 actors, to be announced later.

J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany say: ‘It is very exciting to explore Harry’s world in a brand new way through the live form of theatre. Collaborating on this story is exhilarating for all of us and we can’t wait to present the eighth story at the Palace Theatre next summer.’

‘The story only exists because the right group of people came together with a brilliant idea about how to present Harry Potter on stage,’ continues J.K. Rowling. ‘I’m confident that when audiences see Harry Potter and the Cursed Child they will understand why we chose to tell this story in this way.’

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child comes to London’s West End summer 2016.