Two-man show sends up entire wizarding series in 70-minute satire

By F. Graham

Daniel Clarkson spends his evenings making fun of the “Harry Potter” books and movies. But it all comes from a place of love — and maybe even a little jealousy of those magical characters.

Potted Potter
What: A loving parody of Harry Potter
When: Jan 4 to 9
Where: Newman Center for the Performing Arts, University of Denver
Tickets: $37 and up
Info: 303-871-7720

“We get to dress up as wizards and play with fire breathing dragons for a living. Why would you want to do anything else?,” he said of nightly performances of “Potted Potter” with his partner Jefferson Turner.

The pair of acclaimed British actors turned more than 4,000 pages of Harry Potter stories into a satirical two-man play, “Potted Potter.” The show returns to the Newman Center at the University of Denver in early January.

Clarkson said condensing the stories into one quick show was a challenge.

“I think the first draft of the show was closer to seven books in seven days, not 70 minutes, as there was so much we wanted to get in,” he said.

Not only were they condensing all those tales from Hogwarts, Diagon Alley and the muggle world into just over one hour but they chose to play every character with just two actors.

“It was an idea that really made us giggle,” Clarkson said. “What if two people attempted to try and tell all the Harry Potter stories, recreating all the big, epic scenes from the movies and playing over 300 characters, what chaos and silliness would that create? Turns out it was a lot!”

They were also drawn to the story by their own national pride.

“For us, I think it was that he was a true British hero,” Clarkson said. “We don’t have many of them. Usually we’re used to playing the villains. Even in outer space, pop into the Death Star and all the officers had English accents. So it was nice to finally have a hero we could get behind! And he was a wizard, I mean what more do you want?”

I asked Clarkson if my 8-year-old brother and my 40-something parents would all enjoy the show. He said it has broad appeal.

“The joy of Potted Potter is much like the books; there is something for everyone,” he said. “It’s a comedy for all ages and we promise young or old, you’ll all be laughing together. If you don’t, Jeff will buy you all pie, and that’s a fact!”

“Potted Potter” has been performed in Denver before, during previous North American tours, but Clarkson said he and Turner tweak the show all the time, so it rewards repeat attendance.

“The joy of this show is that it’s always changing, it’s always keeping up to date with the world of Harry Potter and the new releases as well as what’s going on in the world,” Clarkson said. “(Repeat audiences) can definitely expect the same silly crazy fun and chaos but there’ll be one or two new bits and surprises that they won’t have seen before.”

Speaking of repeating, Clarkson and the promoters want to be sure that audiences know they are poking fun, but only because they love the books.

“I am … the biggest fan you’ll ever see,” Clarkson said. “Literally. I’m 6 foot 5 inches tall — I dare you to find bigger. This show very much comes from a place of love, and is a homage to the books that we both love so much.”

Click here for tickets and more details.

F. Graham is an 11-year-old Denver resident who has read all the Harry Potter books twice, and recently earned a black belt in tae kwon do.