From Grange Hill to the West End, via Eurovision and the Brit awards, the star has built multiple careers. She talks about stage-school pressure, TV diversity and playing Hermione in Harry Potter and the Cursed ChildMichelle Gayle was 10 months into her role as Hermione Granger in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child last March – and in such full swing that she was in “total denial” of the pandemic – when the West End closed its doors. Sitting in a chintzy backroom of the Palace theatre now, she talks in athletic terms about 12-hour rehearsal days and re-building her stamina. The whole cast is ecstatic to be back, she says, but they are also whispering about how tired they feel.Exhaustion aside, she speaks of her debt to Noma Dumezweni, whose casting in 2016 sparked online outrage from some at the prospect of a Black Hermione. JK Rowling piled in to the furore to defend the casting and call out the complaints as racist. Dumezweni won an Olivier award for the part. “I owe her a lot of gratitude – I’m standing on her shoulders,” says Gayle. “She got through that [time] with incredible grace and proved she was there on merit because she’s a bloody good actress but she had to take a big hit online to do that. When someone of the quality of Noma steps up, no one’s got anything more to say and then the conversation’s dead. It’s a shame that you have to be brilliant to end that conversation, but there are enough brilliant black actors out there.” Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2021-10-13 08:41:05 UTC ]
When a fan questioned Rowling's statement that she envisioned 'Harry Potter' character Dumbledore as gay, the author replied that 'gay people just look like ... people.' 'Amazing answer,' the fan replied. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2015-03-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Bibliography,' which will be released in the US in April, includes details about alternate titles considered and also tells readers which 'Harry Potter' book Rowling got 'sick' of reading after many edits. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2015-03-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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If you're the sort of Harry Potter fan who can't help but read the series again and again, Oyster has a treat in store. The all-you-can-read subscription service has teamed up with Pottermore to carry all of the Harry Potter books, including the Hogw... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2015-01-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bloomsbury has launched a competition for schools to win a workshop with Harry Potter jacket illustrator Jonny Duddle as part of Harry Potter Book Night, which will take place on the 5th February. To win the workshop, pupils must design a new "chocolate frog" card. The cards, which feature... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-01-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Artist Jim Kay is doing the artwork for the new version of the first book of the 'Harry Potter' series, which will be released this October. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2015-01-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publishers Scholastic and Bloomsbury are re-releasing the series with full-color illustrations.Between author J.K. Rowling's fan hub experience Pottermore and a slew of fans bringing elements of Harry Potter's world to life (Marauder's Map, a seven-book saga in one), the boy who lived lives on,... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2015-01-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Girls are quick to romanticise anti-heroes, says Harry Potter author, as she shares her vision for the future of the boy wizard’s school enemyJK Rowling says that “girls are very apt to romanticise” the antihero, and reveals that she had been forced to pour “cold common sense” on the startling... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-12-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The character 'is the only one I feel guilty about,' the author recently wrote in an essay detailing how she plotted her seven-part series and how a story change made this character's death necessary. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-12-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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From Dec. 12 to Dec. 23, Rowling is posting 12 new stories set in the 'Potter' universe on the website Pottermore. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-12-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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From Dec. 12 to Dec. 23, Rowling is posting 12 new stories set in the 'Potter' universe on the website Pottermore. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-12-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Pottermore is set to post a surprise each day between the 12th and the 23rd December, including new writing from J K Rowling. In a newsletter sent to Harry Potter fans, Pottermore said Rowling will write about Draco Malfoy, a pupil at Hogwarts and one of Harry Potter’s nemeses, as well as... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-12-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Harry Potter' fans came together at a castle in Poland to act out the world of J.K. Rowling's books. More events are planned for April. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-12-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Ebook readers reveal the most highlighted passages in Harry Potter, the Bible, Lord of the Rings and many more Its an odd sensation to be reading an ebook and to suddenly notice that thanks to the providers data-tracking software youre on a passage that other people have already highlighted. I... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-11-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Dolores Umbridge is a sadistic teacher whom Harry encounters. Rowling posted a piece on the website Pottermore with new information about the character's past and revealed how she was inspired to give the cruel teacher a love of bows and kittens. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-11-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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J K Rowling has revealed that Dolores Umbridge, a Hogwarts professor and enemy of Harry Potter, was based on a real person. In any essay posted on the Pottermore website, Rowling said she “disliked intensely on sight” the person she based Umbridge on, who was a teacher “in a certain skill or... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-11-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Harry Potter, The Gruffalo, and Horrid Henry are the top book brands for children, according to a report commissioned by the Licensing Industry Merchandisers’ Association (LIMA). The report—released at the Brand Licensing Europe (BLE) exhibition, held in London last week—found that books were... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-10-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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What titles most shaped the site's readers? Harry Potter, To Kill A Mockingbird, The Lord of the Rings—and the Bible. Continue reading at The Atlantic
[ The Atlantic | 2014-09-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Yates is reportedly in negotiations to direct 'Beasts,' a new story set in the world of 'Harry Potter.' Yates directed the well-received final four movies in the 'Potter' film series. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-08-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Rowling's newest original content penned for the website Pottermore focuses on Celestina Warbeck, an 'off-stage' character whose songs are heard in the 'Potter' novels although the singer never makes an actual appearance. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-08-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Rowling's newest original content penned for the website Pottermore focuses on Celestina Warbeck, an 'off-stage' character whose songs are heard in the 'Potter' novels although the singer never makes an actual appearance. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-08-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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