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Harry Who? The True Heroes of Hogwarts

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Remember the world before June 1997? If you can’t, don’t worry; you didn’t miss much. The world was a dull, uninspired, basically pointless place. Nobody had ever heard of quidditch or boggarts or kneazles. Hardly anybody even knew how to pronounce ‘Hermione’.

Luckily, J.K. Rowling stepped up and fixed everything. By imagining the incredible world of Hogwarts and writing the incomparable seven-book Harry Potter series, she delivered us from despair and brought us magic, adventure, intrigue and endless fun.

At the Athenaeum Theatre in October, we’re celebrating 20 years since Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone with a night of storytelling, music, reading and revelry. And, in true Hogwarts spirit, there’ll be a competitive element to the night. We’ll broach the eternal, yet controversial, question: Who was the real hero of the Harry Potter series? Was it really the eponymous orphan wizard? Or was it misunderstood Snape, or heroic brainiac Hermione Granger? Was it the Sorting Hat who truly saved the day?

Ben Pobjie, Clementine Ford, Josh Earl, Justin Heazlewood, Jessica Walton, Nayuka Gorrie, Cal Wilson, C.S. Pacat and Candy Bowers will make the case for their chosen hero in an evening of wonder, wizardry and hardcore fanning out. Plus, there’ll be a performance by a quartet from the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. All houses welcome. Even Slytherins (sort of).

Suitable for ages 12 and over. For extra house points, dress as your favourite Harry Potter character.

#harrywho

This event will be Auslan interpreted.

Presented in partnership with Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.

Featuring

Clementine Ford

Clementine Ford is a Melbourne-based writer, speaker and feminist thinker. She is a columnist for Fairfax’s Daily Life and is a regular contributor to the Age and Sydney Morning Herald. Through her twice-weekly columns for Daily Life, Clementine explores issues of gen... Read more

Ben Pobjie

Ben Pobjie is a writer, comedian and poet with no journalistic qualifications whatsoever. He has a weekly column at Australian news commentary site newmatilda.com, and his writing has appeared in Crikey, The Age and The Punch, among others.

Candy Bowers

Candy Bowers is an award-winning writer, actor, social-activist, comedian and producer. The co-artistic director of Black Honey Company, Candy has pioneered a fierce sub-genre of hip hop theatre that delves into the heart of radical feminist dreaming.   Born of multi-racial South African parents an... Read more

Jessica Walton

Jessica Walton is a picture book author, teacher, parent, daughter of a trans parent and proud queer disabled woman. She wrote Introducing Teddy: a story about being yourself to help explain gender identity in a simple, positive way to her kids. Introducing Teddy began as a Kickstarter project, bu... Read more

Nayuka Gorrie

Nayuka Gorrie is a Gunnai/Kurnai, Gunditjmara, Wiradjuri and Yorta Yorta essayist and screenwriter.

Justin Heazlewood

Justin Heazlewood is one of Australia’s most versatile storytellers. Music and comedy fans know him best as the ARIA award-nominated Bedroom Philosopher, a moniker under which Heazlewood has released several albums of incisive, brutally funny and often heartbreaking songs. Heazlewood is also a wr... Read more

Cal Wilson

Cal Wilson came across the Tasman in 2003 and has gone on to become one of our most popular comedians, a perennial favourite on television shows such as Have You Been Paying Attention?, Spicks and Specks, Good News Week and Thank God You’re Here. Her stand up shows are as engaging as they are... Read more

C.S. Pacat

C.S. Pacat is the New York Times and USA-Today best-selling author of Dark Rise, the Captive Prince trilogy, and the GLAAD-nominated graphic novels Fence, as well as a writer for DC Comics. Educated at the University of Melbourne, C.S. Pacat has since lived in a number of cities, including Toky... Read more

Josh Earl

Josh Earl is a comedian with a very weird family. His latest show for children is called My Family is Weider Than Your Family. And believe us, he’s not lying.

Location

Athenaeum Theatre

188 Collins Street Melbourne Victoria 3000

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The Wheeler Centre acknowledges the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung people of the Kulin Nation as the Traditional Owners of the land on which the Centre stands. We acknowledge and pay our respects to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and their Elders, past and present, as the custodians of the world’s oldest continuous living culture.