The Show

Tour Dates

Reviews

The Guardian ****

Sublimely potty and done with the lightest of touches, this daft two-man parody of JK Rowling's Harry Potter novels is a bliss fully funny 75 minutes for anyone with a passing acquaintance with the boy wizard and He Who Must Not Be Named. Like all really good parodies, Dan and Jeff's "unauthorised Harry Experience" is both a send-up and a heartfelt homage. It also incorporates recent revelations, so that the outed Dumbledore becomes "the only wizard in the village".

In fact, it is all terrific family entertainment, as performers and writers Daniel Clarkson and Jefferson Turner "muggle" along with just the right mix of boyish exuberance and cack-handed charm. Dan, in particular, often seems a trifle confused between his Potter and his Lord of the Rings and Narnia adventures. Then there is his misunderstanding about the difference between Hogwarts and warthogs. And when he plays the Defence of the Dark Arts teacher, Lupin, the werewolf has inexplicably transmuted into an elephant. These mixups weigh heavily on self-appointed Harry Potter expert Jeff, all the more because Dan has used all the money set aside to employ 20 actors on the dragon in Book Four. The dragon, needless to say, turns out to be a severe disappointment.

At moments, there is a touch of the National Theatre of Brent in the prickly relationship between Dan and Jeff. This is also the only show in town in which the audience get to participate in a game of quidditch, even though Dan appears to think that a vacuum cleaner can be substituted for a Nimbus 2000 and Jeff has a trying time as the Golden Snitch. A winner in every way. Lyn Gardner

Daily Telegraph

A fabulously funny parody, which bolts the modern obsession with Potter on to an old-fashioned variety turn with serious Jeff taking the Ernie Wise role and silly Dan as a latterday Eric Morecambe.

The List ****

The task facing performers Dan and Jeff is to recreate six of the teen wizard's adventures (with bonus seventh book teaser) in under an hour - an assignment akin to trying to squeeze the contents of Niagara Falls into a teacup. The pair wisely opt to take as irreverent an approach to the source material as possible, dipping into a rag bag collection of scruffy props and silly wigs to breathe goofy life into some of the epic series' most memorable set pieces.

In this version Harry battles threadbare giant serpents, a feeble horn-tailed dragon, not to mention He Who Must Not Be Named. The audience is even invited to take part in an inspired mass game of Quidditch. What the show lacks in budget it makes up for in humour and invention. Highly recommended for fans and detractors of JK Rowling's oeuvre alike.

Edinburgh Evening News ****

DANIEL CLARKSON and Jefferson Turner, better known as Dan and Jeff to Blue Peter fans, have produced a hilarious show enjoyable for adults and children.

Sitting in your seat, it's hard to recall a point when you weren't laughing, in particular Dan's impression of Professor Dumbledore at the end of the fifth book.

The game of Quidditch involved the audience, the Golden Snitch magnified a great number of times, as it was Jeff in a golden costume. With Dan playing the daft funnyman and Jeff as the exasperated HP expert, they form an entertaining, effective duo.

Good for both kids and adults, I can guarantee nobody will leave unsatisfied.   Children will find Jeff the Golden Snitch brilliantly funny, and adults will enjoy lines such as "Dumbledore's the greatest sorcerer alive - and he went into teaching?"

A show that is well worth the money.

Three Weeks *****

Affection for Potter and Rowling is not required to enjoy this show. In fact even those who loathe the Harry phenomenon will crack smiles at this endearing double-act, who, with helter-skelter energy, whisk the audience through the novels in an hour.

Chaotically pantomime in character, Dan and Jeff declare their show a parody, and proceed to induce giggles in both children and adults alike.   Its brilliant moments of irreverence towards author and characters, and its use of a cultural world outside Potter, prevent the show becoming one of relentless worship - most notably, 'I Will Survive' as a Harry and Voldemort duet.   The Potter name is synonymous with success; 'Potted Potter' continues the trend.

The Stage

It's an absolute gift of a show: an hour's whizz through the first six of JK Rowling's Harry Potter books plus tantalizing preview snippets of the latest, seventh and final release. And judging by the delighted reaction of the packed house, Daniel Clarkson and Jefferson Turner are doing their subject justice, if ever so slightly irreverently.

Dan (the clever dumb one) and Jeff (the dumb clever one) had planned a dazzling array of stars to come on and play all the characters for us.   The problem is that Dan has spent all the money on creating the Dragon (Book 4).   Jeff is incensed but decides to carry on with the show regardless.   What follows is deliciously loopy as the hapless duo attempt to recreate key characters and scenes from Hogwarts using an endless supply of ordinary household props and assorted members of the audience.

Is Dumbledore's prophecy (Book 5) really a scene from Little Britain?   Are the Dementors (Book 3) and Snape (Book 6) good or evil?   Will a basilisk fang kill Riddle's Diary (Book 2)?   Will Ron stop talking like a bad rapper (Book 1) innit?   Will Dan ever get his game of quidditch?   How many puns can they get out of the word muggles?   And will Jeff ever get to see the Dragon?

The audience (mainly very grown-up kids over 20 it seems!) know the books back to front, and Dan and Jeff more than meet the challenge of finding an original take on the Potter oeuvre.   Funny and gloriously unpredictable, this is one of those rare great nights out for all the family.

National Student Magazine *****

Ever since the runaway success of the Reduced Shakespeare Company people have been tripping over themselves (and each other) to take famed popular works of fiction and pay tribute to them in a lighthearted concise form. It's all the rage. So it's no surprise that the Harry Potter series should get the same treatment and be lovingly parodied by someone in that way.

In this wonderful show Dan and Jeff, for it is they, whizz through all the books in 1 hour, including a nod to the final one. Thank god it is just a nod quite frankly - as I'm still only halfway through the last one!

Given the weight of material they are drawing from, this is less a performance of the stories and more of a fast paced silly synopsis. They tease the audience frequently over the insurmountable challenges they have set themselves in trying to recreate tales that feature hundreds of characters, beasts, actions and events that they couldn't possibly portray effectively. So instead its all down to a cavalcade of hats, wigs, costumes and stupid voices as they hurry through book by book.

Their novels and their fan-base lend themselves brilliantly to incorporating much pantomimey audience interaction, and the assembled hoards were only too eager to add their voices to the show when required. I couldn't honestly hide my own excitement, and the atmosphere throughout the auditorium was electric. The interaction went so far that the entire audience was led in a big game of quidditch, a touch of pure genius that was sheer joy for everyone.

There's plenty to keep kids, adults and kidults happy and involved with gags and references for young and old.

This is deliciously delirious frenetic action packed fun for all the family. This may be labelled as a kids show, but the books were supposed to be for children and that didn't stop us from enjoying them, so don't let this stop you seeing Potted Potter. It's a piece of potty perfection.

British Theatre Guide ****

The first six Harry Potter novels are all re-told in one hour by two performers, Jeff and Dan, who act, joke and play their way through the books and touch upon the seventh. There is a good measure of slapstick moments and gags which keep the younger members of the audience enthralled, but also a good number of clever comments and oblique references to give the adults a chuckle as well.

The highlight of the show most definitely had to be the impromptu game of quidditch involving the crowd batting a large beachball around while two audience members were taken on stage to catch the golden snitch.

Fans of the books and the films will love the show, as Jeff and Dan are more than familiar with the material, and the level of ingenuity and charm with which they hold proceedings is infectiously entertaining, making this a great stage show for all ages.

Edinburgh Festivals Magazine ****

All six Harry Potter books in 60 minutes, with bonus book seven teaser!" is the grand claim of this cheerful children's show.   Don't be alarmed, though, as this is no breakneck race in the style of The Reduced Shakespeare Company.   In fact it's surprising how much time is devoted to the pair of actors faux-arguing, rather than recapping the books, allowing kids and adults alike the chance to enjoy the jokes.  

Dan and Jeff, the writers and actors of the piece, are reassuringly appealing to all age groups, with a Dick-and-Dom style rapport that will set children at ease while keeping adults equally entertained.   The humour is rarely childish, aiming rather for genuine laughs that are appropriate for everyone.   Cleverly, the duo have decided not to give much of the final book away in their act, realising, perhaps, that many of the smaller audience members won't have ploughed their way through JK Rowling's latest tome.

This is a satisfying and enjoyable show that Harry Potter fans of all ages will love, and even non-fans will get a chuckle out of.   And any show that manages to get the audience involved in a fairly silly game of Quidditch must be doing something right.

Let’s face it, anything involving Harry Potter these days is going to be sold out, such is the appeal of the wee wizard from Hogwarts.  However, this show is not the story of HP, it is a “parody” as Dan and Jeff never fail to emphasise to us.  So, what does parody mean?  Well, it means the production is not true to the HP tales, instead it makes fun of them, in a ridiculous way.  And I think that’s a fair summary of what Dan and Jeff did.

The kids loved it.  The adults loved it (I think even more so than the kids).  The slapstick, the props, the scarily accurate impersonations (Dumbledore, HP…) and the impressive summaries of each book.  Certainly I now feel I’ve had a good reminder and am ready for book number 7.

They are perfect entertainers; enthusiastic, ingenious, believable, humorous, excellent interaction with the audience, child-aware – what else can I say?  An asset to children’s theatre and children’s reading.  JK should be honoured.

Christopher, aged 8yrs and his sister Rebecca, 13yrs, had not read the books (shock, horror – Mum and Dad buy them now!), but really enjoyed the show.  I think their parents did too.

Who says kids can't enjoy satire? Potted Potter delivers a fast-paced, enthusiastic pantomime, all with the huge energy needed to keep the young audience interested. The show is a quirky and irreverent race through the plots of the six books, involving frantic costume changes, charts, song and a Very Frightening Dragon. Dan and Jeff hurl themselves into the farce with all their enthusiasm and it has boys, girls, Mums, Dads and the Japanese tourists in the corner all roaring with laughter.

With something for adults and children and performed by two very likable actors, Potted Potter is really worth seeing even if you don't have a child as an excuse.