JK Rowling Announces Plot for Harry Potter Sequel Play

JK Rowling announced back in June that Harry Potter was coming to the London stage, but until now, there was much speculation the stage play's plot would be a prequel to the books. Rowling debunked that today: "So now you know it really isn't a prequel," she tweeted. "Harry Potter & the #CursedChild starts #19yearslater!" Harry Potter and the Cursed Child opens at the Palace Theater in the summer of 2016, and tickets go on sale next week, USA Today reports. Rowling's site Pottermore has more details on the plot, which involves Potter and his youngest son, Albus Severus.

"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," reads the official synopsis. "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." The play's official Twitter account has artwork and more info. (Albus' older brother, James Sirius, started at Hogwarts last month.)