Emma Watson went to see Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and absolutely loved it

Watson met and hugged new Hermione actor Noma Dumezweni backstage

Noma Dumezweni plays adult Hermione in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

Emma Watson has given Harry Potter and the Cursed Child a rave review after going to watch the new play in London.

The 26-year-old actor played Hermione in the movies based on JK Rowling’s books, but wrote on Facebook that the theatre show was “possibly even more beautiful than the films”.

Watson went backstage to meet the cast and crew, notably Noma Dumezweni who stars as adult Hermione in the first fresh story since Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows nine years ago.

“Having seen it I felt more connected to Hermione and the stories than I have since Deathly Hallows came out, which was such a gift,” she said. “Meeting Noma and seeing her on stage was like meeting my older self and have her tell me everything was going to be alright, which as you can imagine was immensely comforting (and emotional)! The cast and crew welcomed me like I was family and Noma was everything I could ever hope she would be. She's wonderful. The music is beautiful… I could go on…”

Dumezweni sent similarly gushing tweets from her official account, telling Watson how “emotional” it was to be in her company:

Daniel Radcliffe, who played the lead as the schoolboy wizard in the franchise, is yet to see The Cursed Child. He told E! last month that he is “not sure” whether to attend in case his appearance “took something away from the show”.

“It would be a weird one. I could be completely wrong in this, but I feel like if I went to see it, there's going to be a lot of Harry Potter fans there in the audience and would that then become a thing?” he said. “Would it be more about them watching me watch the show or would it take away from the show? I would never want to do anything that would distract or take away from the show.”

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child officially opens at the Palace Theatre in London on 30 July, with tickets being sold by touts online for up to £2,200.

Little is known about the plot, bar that the story is set 19 years after Harry, Ron, Hemione and the gang waved goodbye to Hogwarts. Harry’s son Albus takes the starring role, as he is left “struggling with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted” while learning with his father that “sometimes, darkness comes from unexpected places”. It runs until May next year.