Puffs or: Seven Increasingly Eventful Years At A Certain School Of Magic And Magic

It’s the least known house in modern literature’s most well-known school, but by the end of this show, you’ll be cheering for the underdogs of the Hogwart’s school of magic - the losers, the socially inept, the...well, the Puffs.

“We’re the Puffs, we’re just here to die I suppose.”

A quick audience scan on opening night set the scene - it was like Book Week at school except these were mostly adults. There was a Slytherin on the right, a Gryffindor in front and a young fully-outfitted Harry Potter in the front row who was about to learn some colourful new language.

The world of Harry Potter is loved by young and old, and there are several condensed stage versions of the seven-book epic, mostly aimed at younger audiences. But this comedic gem from New Yorker Matt Cox sets a tone that James Corden would be proud of. It’s pitched at older fans and tells the tale from the point of view of Hogwart’s most overlooked cohort, the Hufflepuffs.

After four years Off-Broadway and a production in Melbourne and Sydney, Puffs has made it to Brisbane with Kristin McCarthy Parker in the director’s chair and Sydney Theatre award-winner and long-time Aussie Puff, Lauren McKenna, as resident director.

The superb 13-strong Australian ensemble for this show has been pulled from as far as Mildura (Ryan Hawke), Hobart (Daniel Cosgrove), Gosford (Gareth Isaac), Melbourne (Annabelle Tudor), and Brisbane (Angelina Thomson).

There are laughs for everyone, whether you are a Hogwart’s alumni or just looking for a show with razor-sharp wit.

Gareth Isaac takes the audience into his confidence as narrator and sets a fast pace, introducing us to Wayne Hopkins, our Puffs hero who will, over the course of the two-and-a-half hour show, teach us a lot about love and friendship, and learning from his many, many mistakes.  Matt Whitty’s Mad-Eye Moody and Snape are standouts, as is Lauren McKenna’s high-pitched squeek. Angelina Thomson takes moody to the extreme as rebel teen Puff Megan Jones, and bottom lips were trembling for James Bryer’s Cedric.

I’m coming in for a big group hug guys, you were brilliant!

Debra Bela