2023-12-11 18:17:35
Magic and strategy – that’s what Harry Potter is all about. It has now been 16 years since the last volume of the incredibly successful book series was published and twelve years since the last film adaptation. But the fascination that the sorcerer’s apprentice and his fight against evil exert is unbroken. Companion works, theme parks, games and the popular play “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” keep interest in the creation of Joanne K. Rowling, which has long been discovered by a second generation of readers.
The audience is strategically lured into the Potter cosmos with events organized to coincide with various anniversaries. While a new adaptation of the novel series is being prepared, you can now immerse yourself in the magical kingdom with the help of numerous costumes and original props from the eight Harry Potter feature films and the “Fantastic Beasts” series. “Harry Potter – The Exhibition” is the name of the American show, which, after its European premiere in December 2022 in Vienna (in keeping with the 25th anniversary of the publication of the first Potter novel) and stops in Paris and Barcelona, will also be in Germany for the first time in spring 2024 is presented. From May 3rd, the Small Olympic Hall in Munich will be transformed into the Hogwarts wizarding boarding school.
“Mixture of personal experience and a look behind the scenes”
The exhibition was designed by the Atlanta-based company Imagine Exhibitions in collaboration with Warner Brothers, which owns the film rights and also stores parts of the film’s sets and numerous costumes in an archive. “We were allowed to use this archive,” says Tom Zaller, curator of the show and board member of Imagine Exhibitions, who, together with his team, has implemented many film-specific exhibitions in recent years, such as “Titanic” or “Jurassic Park”.
The Great Hall shouldn’t be missed either: a look at the Harry Potter exhibition in Vienna last year: Image: dpa
You don’t just want to drag some relics out of a treasure trove and present them in display cases, you want to make the imaginary Harry Potter world appear. “The question was how we could implement that,” says Zaller: “We are neither a traveling theme park nor can we recreate a studio tour. We have therefore tried to create a mixture of self-awareness and a look behind the scenes for the often limited space of exhibition halls, while also telling stories that are sometimes new even for the absolute Harry Potter connoisseur. For example, using Lord Voldemort’s cloak as an example, we show how it became darker and darker the more evil his character became. These details are important to us.”
The attention to detail, explained on some long text panels, should particularly delight film fans, as this exhibition, despite all its ingenuity, is based very much on the world of images of feature films and less on any projections made by readers, and this is not only audibly underlined with the film soundtrack, but also also evoked with the use of small film clips.
Visitors are required as teammates
The visitor can see himself in them, as he is in demand as a player on this course through the Potter world. You log into the world at the entrance using a chip on a wristband and this also gives you the opportunity to take part in various interactions. Beforehand you have entered your name, a favorite animal and your magic wand, but above all you have chosen one of the houses Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw or Slytherin, for which you have to collect points in various tasks.
Jannis Holl Published/Updated: Recommendations: 7 Published/Updated: Recommendations: 4 Published/Updated: Recommendations: 3
These are not difficult for a newly graduated wizard when walking through the exhibition, the highlights of which are the recreated sets of Hagrid’s smoky hut, Dolores Umbridge’s pink-purple office and, certainly, Harry’s tiny room under the stairs. Every visitor, big or small, will soon want to lie down on the narrow bed.
But the biggest challenge awaits you at the exit of the exhibition, which can only be reached by those who have walked through a huge shop full of merchandise items and a counter where sweet Butterbeer is tapped. Some people certainly need magical powers for this.
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