Jamie Parker You have abandonment issues, obviously.

You both share story credit with J. K. Rowling. How did it work having three writers in the mix?

John Tiffany Jo Rowling was incredibly generous. I met her first, and I already had a soft spot for her because she used to write in the cafe of the Traverse Theater in Edinburgh when I was the director. It was only after the first book came out that I realized it had been her, nursing one cappuccino for four hours. When we met to talk about the play, she asked, “What do you think the Harry Potter stories are about?” I said, “Learning to deal with death and grief.” There was something in her eye — I thought, we didn’t say it’s about transformation or magic or flying on brooms, and we’re on the right track.

Thorne We all met in Edinburgh and as the day developed, we knew we would take the epilogue of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” as a starting point.

Tiffany All the seeds are there; we start with that scene in the train station. Am I allowed to say that? Anyway, it was clear that she was going to let us take those characters and have our own ideas.

Callender Of course, Jack came to the table with an encyclopedic knowledge of Harry, so that helped.

Thorne All right, I’m a nerd. With abandonment issues.

Did you really sketch out the whole arc of the story in that first meeting?

Thorne Yes, but then it took about six months to really map the whole thing out. Every time it was like taking a big step forward, one or two small ones back. Jo would say, “This feels right, this doesn’t.”

Tiffany There are parts of the story, which when we first conceived them, I didn’t think she would let us do, but she never hesitated. It is one thing to let us continue the story, another to let us unravel the canon.

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Friedman That’s enough!

Was the idea of a two-part play there from the beginning?

Tiffany No, not at all. But we knew we had to deal with going beyond where the books left off, but also go back and look at the stories within them. We wanted to develop the characters that are already known and keep that consistency, but also introduce new ones. It was clearly hard to put an epic tale into two-and-a-half hours. We had a meeting and said, “Why not two parts?” And we knew right away how we wanted to end the first part. It’s a cliffhanger.

Noma Dumezweni It does that wonderful thing that books do when they work; it makes you desperate for more story.

How is it different telling that story as a play rather than a novel?

Thorne We can tell the story of the younger and older generation at the same time, which the books didn’t do. The exciting thing has been working out how those worlds fit together. It’s a coming-of-age story as much for the adults as for the children. John and I are more or less the same age as Harry in the play and I just had my first child, so there has been a lot of discussion about growing up, being a parent.

Tiffany How do you mother or father when you still need parenting yourself?

Dumezweni Also, I think the difference with a play is that you’re not experiencing the story on your own the way you do with a book. Being in the theater is a communal experience, and this play, with two parts, is a commitment. I’m fascinated to see what my daughter will think after a whole day in the theater. As an actor, it’s something I’ve never experienced before.

What about dealing with the issue of magic in the theater, where you can’t create the kind of effects that happen in film?

Tiffany Film has got green screen. We’ve got the imagination of the audience.

How do you feel, Jamie and Noma, playing characters that a huge fan-base feel so possessive about? Is it intimidating?

Dumezweni I think Jamie found it very intimidating. [Everyone laughs.]

Parker It’s not so different from playing any role that is within a canon. You have the responsibility of being sensitive to the collective investment in the story. But you just have to try to serve the play the best way you can and not worry about that.

Dumezweni The weight of expectation is huge. But for me that pressure has been outweighed by getting text messages from mums I know saying how huge it is for their mixed-race daughters that I am playing Hermione. Ultimately it’s a theater piece, I’m a theater actor and doing a job as best I can.

Has it been difficult to work under conditions of intense secrecy? And what about when previews start and people are talking about the play online?

Callender I’m hopeful after seeing how people were about “Star Wars.” They mostly protected the fans.

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Tiffany It will be a relief when the text is published, when the play officially opens on July 30, so that it’s not our secret to keep. But if you don’t read it, and you choose not to read reviews, we’ve made it possible to come without prior knowledge.

Parker And you don’t get that much nowadays. So often things are ruined because you know so much.

Dumezweni I’ve quite loved the secrecy. Although, of course, my home life is [expletive]. My daughter tries to guess what is in the play. She says, “Just smile at me if I’m right.”

Tiffany My mum is the only problem. Everyone else is fine. She asks really specific questions; then I discovered people are quizzing her in her local supermarket.

Parker When people ask, I just pull out a wand, and go, “I’m a wizard!”