{"id":5596,"date":"2018-06-03T06:44:49","date_gmt":"2018-06-02T20:44:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/?p=5596"},"modified":"2018-06-02T16:26:30","modified_gmt":"2018-06-02T06:26:30","slug":"puffs-alex-theatre-theatre-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/puffs-alex-theatre-theatre-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Puffs (Alex Theatre) &#8211; theatre review"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>What was happening while young wizard Harry Potter and his friends were honing their skills at Hogwarts? What about the less skilled wizards and witches? They who would scarcely amount to much as Potter struggled against dark Lord Voldemort. Specifically, what happened to an orphan named Wayne Hopkins? Well \u2026 <i>Puffs<\/i> reveals all with much mirth \u2026 and a bit of swearing.<\/p>\n<p>At age 11, Wayne (Ryan Hawke) was whisked off to magic school, totally unprepared. This play is about his next seven years, as he forges a close friendship with Oliver (Keith Brockett) and Megan (Eva Seymour). It&#8217;s about the challenges they and their fellow students face. They&#8217;re inspired by one of their own, Cedric (Rob Mills). He believes they can place in the top three in the House Cup (one of the ongoing gags in the piece).<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5616\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5616\" style=\"width: 560px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-5616\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Puffs-01.jpg?resize=560%2C374\" alt=\"\" width=\"560\" height=\"374\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Puffs-01.jpg?w=560&amp;ssl=1 560w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Puffs-01.jpg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Puffs-01.jpg?resize=272%2C182&amp;ssl=1 272w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 560px) 100vw, 560px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-5616\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo credit: Ben Fon<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The title comes from Hufflepuff &#8211; one of Hogwart&#8217;s four houses. The production references its founder, medieval witch Helga Hufflepuff. <i>Puffs <\/i>started as a silly thought about how terrible it must have been to be a student during the time Harry Potter attended magic school. Matt Cox turned it into an off-Broadway hit (with original music composed by Brian Hoes).<\/p>\n<p>To say this is a hoot is an understatement. It&#8217;s not only clever but fast-paced and hysterically funny. The show has already garnered a cult following, a la <i>The Rocky Horror Show<\/i>. And like its forebear, not only the cast dress up. A single, well-placed word \u2013 and I assure you there are many \u2013 generates peals of laughter from die-hard fans who understand every Potter reference. Adults and children are mesmerised by the material \u2026 lost in a sea of ecstasy. That, in itself, has to be seen to be believed.<\/p>\n<p>If you&#8217;re not familiar with the JK Rowling phenomenon (having chosen to live under a rock for the past 21 years), I dare say you won\u2019t get it and won\u2019t understand what the fuss is all about. The whole thing will simply appear to be nonsense. For the rest, this is the equivalent of theatrical gold.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5617\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5617\" style=\"width: 560px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-5617\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Puffs-02.jpg?resize=560%2C373\" alt=\"\" width=\"560\" height=\"373\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Puffs-02.jpg?w=560&amp;ssl=1 560w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Puffs-02.jpg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Puffs-02.jpg?resize=272%2C182&amp;ssl=1 272w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 560px) 100vw, 560px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-5617\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo credit: Ben Fon<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><i>Puffs <\/i>keeps the good times rolling without a break. Well, there is an interval (the play runs for the best part of two hours over the two acts), but no interruption to the hilarious scripted verbiage from the 11-strong cast. Among all that, my finest moment was unscripted, as four members of the troupe succumbed to a fit of giggles. You see, it&#8217;s a show like that &#8211; and the better for it.<\/p>\n<p>As it began, the season was already being extended. So, buy a ticket to <i>Puffs<\/i> and laugh until you cry. Directed by Kristin McCarthy Parker, it&#8217;s playing at the <a href=\"https:\/\/alextheatrestk.com.au\/event\/876\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Alex Theatre in St Kilda<\/a> until 8 July 2018. That includes family-friendly matinees on weekends during which all bad language will be removed.<\/p>\n<h4>Alex First<\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What was happening while young wizard Harry Potter and his friends were honing their skills at Hogwarts? What about the less skilled wizards and witches? They who would scarcely amount to much as Potter struggled against dark Lord Voldemort. Specifically, what happened to an orphan named Wayne Hopkins? Well \u2026 Puffs reveals all with much&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5612,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[801],"tags":[1594,21,2125,37,124,1593,38,590],"class_list":["post-5596","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-theatre","tag-alex-theatre","tag-comedy","tag-harry-potter","tag-melbourne","tag-musical","tag-satire","tag-theatre","tag-theatre-review"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Puffs (Alex Theatre) - theatre review -<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/puffs-alex-theatre-theatre-review\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Puffs (Alex Theatre) - theatre review -\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What was happening while young wizard Harry Potter and his friends were honing their skills at Hogwarts? 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Well \u2026 Puffs reveals all with much...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/puffs-alex-theatre-theatre-review\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-06-02T20:44:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Puffs-03.jpg?fit=1024%2C600&ssl=1\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"David Edwards\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"David Edwards\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theblurb.com.au\\\/wp\\\/puffs-alex-theatre-theatre-review\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theblurb.com.au\\\/wp\\\/puffs-alex-theatre-theatre-review\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"David Edwards\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theblurb.com.au\\\/wp\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/5b6e71c52b0c61f2ea361d202fc6c8da\"},\"headline\":\"Puffs (Alex Theatre) &#8211; 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theatre review","author":"Alex First","date":"April 29, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Whether or not you are a Harry Potter fan, it would be hard to be unimpressed or unamused by this delightfully ditzy offering.\u00a0In short, Potted Potter condenses all seven Harry Potter books and a game of Quidditch into 70 hilarious minutes.\u00a0Taking us on the wild ride are the talented and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Theatre&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Theatre","link":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/category\/theatre\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/rsz_pottedpotter-scottjoe-dumbledore2.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/rsz_pottedpotter-scottjoe-dumbledore2.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/rsz_pottedpotter-scottjoe-dumbledore2.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/rsz_pottedpotter-scottjoe-dumbledore2.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8361,"url":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/harry-potter-and-the-cursed-child-parts-1-and-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":5596,"position":2},"title":"Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Parts 1 and 2","author":"Alex First","date":"February 24, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Harry Potter on stage rocks.\u00a0Harry Potter and the Cursed Child re-writes the rule book when it comes to what's possible in a play and is set for a long run in Melbourne. Two years is guaranteed. Beyond that, we shall see. This is the eighth story in Harry Potter the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Theatre&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Theatre","link":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/category\/theatre\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/HPCC-03.jpg?fit=1054%2C600&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/HPCC-03.jpg?fit=1054%2C600&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/HPCC-03.jpg?fit=1054%2C600&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/HPCC-03.jpg?fit=1054%2C600&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/HPCC-03.jpg?fit=1054%2C600&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":141335,"url":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/141335-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":5596,"position":3},"title":"Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Princess Theatre) &#8211; theatre review","author":"Alex First","date":"May 25, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"The story and staging remain just as utterly absorbing and intoxicating in the new, one part Harry Potter and The Cursed Child as when it was divided into two.\u00a0All the key \u201cmagic\u201d components \u2013 and I assure you they are extraordinary \u2013 have been retained.\u00a0The stage show moves along at\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Theatre&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Theatre","link":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/category\/theatre\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/rsz_michael_whalley_paula_arundell_tom_russell_lucy_goleby_gareth_reeves_ben_walter_-_photo_credit_michelle_grace_hunder.jpg?fit=800%2C532&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/rsz_michael_whalley_paula_arundell_tom_russell_lucy_goleby_gareth_reeves_ben_walter_-_photo_credit_michelle_grace_hunder.jpg?fit=800%2C532&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/rsz_michael_whalley_paula_arundell_tom_russell_lucy_goleby_gareth_reeves_ben_walter_-_photo_credit_michelle_grace_hunder.jpg?fit=800%2C532&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/rsz_michael_whalley_paula_arundell_tom_russell_lucy_goleby_gareth_reeves_ben_walter_-_photo_credit_michelle_grace_hunder.jpg?fit=800%2C532&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":136264,"url":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/voldemort-and-the-teenage-hogwarts-musical-parody-theatre-works-theatre-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":5596,"position":4},"title":"Voldemort and the Teenage Hogwarts Musical Parody (Theatre Works) &#8211; theatre review","author":"Alex First","date":"March 20, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"With no shortage of drama, hijinks and a surfeit of musical talent, this unauthorised musical parody is pure gold for Harry Potter fans.\u00a0It is 1942 and we are in Hogwarts castle.\u00a0There, Professor Dumbledore (Ellis Dolan) is holding court trying to control his students. Among them are Muffin Rows (Mel O\u2019Brien),\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Theatre&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Theatre","link":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/category\/theatre\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/rsz_1kq_fz_a.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/rsz_1kq_fz_a.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/rsz_1kq_fz_a.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/rsz_1kq_fz_a.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":165543,"url":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/the-lord-of-the-rings-a-musical-tale-comedy-theatre-musical-theatre-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":5596,"position":5},"title":"The Lord of the Rings \u2013 A Musical Tale (Comedy Theatre) &#8211; musical theatre review","author":"Alex First","date":"May 2, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Call me a heathen, but I never got into the mythology of J.R.R. Tolkien\u2019s epic and beloved trilogy The Lord of the Rings. Mind you, I could say the same about Harry Potter \u2026 and then I saw that stage play, firstly in two parts and then in one, which\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Music&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Music","link":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/category\/music\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/rsz_11_rarmian_newton_frodo_baggins_-_the_lord_of_the_rings_-_a_musical_tale_credit_daniel_boud.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/rsz_11_rarmian_newton_frodo_baggins_-_the_lord_of_the_rings_-_a_musical_tale_credit_daniel_boud.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/rsz_11_rarmian_newton_frodo_baggins_-_the_lord_of_the_rings_-_a_musical_tale_credit_daniel_boud.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/rsz_11_rarmian_newton_frodo_baggins_-_the_lord_of_the_rings_-_a_musical_tale_credit_daniel_boud.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5596","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5596"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5596\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5612"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5596"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5596"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5596"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}