The stage production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child might be in its final months but a Ballarat-trained actor is about to take on a major role in the show.
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In two weeks, Anna Francesca Armenia will take on the role of Rose Granger-Weasley in the show which takes place 19 years after Harry, Ron and Hermione saved the wizarding world when their children set out on their own magical journey.
While it might be daunting joining the cast of a show that has been running since 2019 (although suspended during COVID), Ms Armenia said fellow cast members had quickly helped her feel at home and get to grips with her character.
"It's great because I get to come in and work with people who already have such a wealth of knowledge of the show and how it works so I'm getting a crash course on how it works and a lot of stuff I'm not having to work out by myself," she said.
"It's really fast-paced but in a way it makes it easier on me because the people around me know exactly what they are doing and if I'm in the wrong spot they push me to the right spot. They know my track more than I do."
Ms Armenia saw Harry Potter and the Cursed Child in its first year when it was performed across two shows, but the first time she saw the single-show version was about a month ago on her first day of rehearsals.
"Even though the story is pretty much the same, it's still quite different to the original two part version," she said.
She was in New Zealand, performing as Joanne in RENT, when she auditioned for and won the role of Rose.
"I found out that I got the role just before Christmas. I was overseas and the audition request came through my agent so I did two or three zoom sessions over a week ... then got the call that I had the role of Rose."
It will be the highest profile role to date for Ms Armenia who graduated from the Ballarat Academy of Performing Arts Bachelor of Music Theatre course in 2014.
"I have really fond memories of Ballarat. It was just a lovely environment to be in. I'm from Melbourne but moved to Ballarat for those three years to study ... and some of my best friends now are still people I studied with in Ballarat."
Ms Armenia is not the only Ballarat link to the long-running show.
Ballarat's Mark Dickinson and Amanda LaBonte were both in the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child cast when it opened as a two-part show in 2019. Ms LaBonte spent three years studying the-then University of Ballarat's musical theatre course while fellow cast member Mark Dickinson had been teaching vocal technique to Federation University Arts Academy students.
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Ms Armenia said Harry Potter and the Cursed Child was a timeless story that would live on even after the show closes.
"There's a lot of nostalgia attached to it from my generation and older generations who grew up with the first books and movies. It's one of those stories that people who grew up with it are now showing their kids the movies and book.
"What's great about Cursed Child is because it occurs after our favourites Harry, Ron and Hermione have had kids it opens up the world of Harry Potter to a whole new generation of young people. You get to meet their kids, see what they are about, how they are similar to their parents and the characters we know and love. There's something new for everyone but also a lot of nostalgia."
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is at Melbourne's Princess Theatre until July 9.
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