Harry Potter and the Cursed Child spoilers: JK Rowling begs fans to 'keep the secrets' in new video

Anyone caught illicitly recording the play will have their device confiscated

JK Rowling has begged Harry Potter fans going to see new play The Cursed Child not to spoil the story for others.

The author shared a video ahead of the production opening in London’s West End on Tuesday, showing her speaking in front of a poster reading “Keep calm and keep the secrets”.

“You’ve been amazing for years at keeping Harry Potter secrets so you didn’t spoil the books for readers who came after you,” she says in the short clip. “So I’m asking you one more time to keep the secrets and let audiences enjoy Cursed Child with all the surprises that we’ve built into the story. Thank you.”

Rowling reminded her 7.41 million Twitter followers that the play’s script will be published on 31 July, “so the story of Cursed Child will be available to everyone”. She also insisted that efforts to stop spoilers leaking are not to do with ticket sales as the play has been “sold out for ages”.

Ticket-holders have been sent emails asking them to arrive an hour early to undergo bag checks. “Dangerous items, professional photography, video or audio recording equipment will not be allowed into the building. This is a condition of entry,” the message read. “If you leave the theatre at any point you will be checked again prior to re-admittance. The use of photography and recording equipment of any kind is prohibited.”

Organisers have warned audiences that anyone caught filming the performance will have their equipment confiscated and the unauthorised files deleted. They insist that arriving so far in advance of curtain-up is necessary “to ensure the show goes off on time and [ticket-holders] can organise their travel after the show”.

The Cursed Child, co-written by JK Rowling, is the first new story about the boy wizard in a decade and as such, hype surrounding its opening is sky high. The two-part production officially opens on 30 July but previews begin on 7 June.

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”.

Jamie Parker is playing a grown-up Harry, who now works for the Ministry of Magic. Sam Clemmett takes on the role of Albus, while Noma Dumezweni has been cast as Hermione and Paul Thornley will play Ron.