DISTINGUISHED DECADE

“Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” turns 10 at London’s Palace Theater today, July 30, cementing its place as the longest-running play in modern West End history staged as a two-part theatrical experience. Produced by Sonia Friedman Productions, Colin Callender and Harry Potter Theater ProductionsThe production has been seen by more than 2.5 million people at the Palace Theater since it opened in 2016, more than 300,000 of them for the first time. In a combined 1,762 performances of Part 1 and Part 2, the show has logged more than 8,300 hours on stage, with 276 cast members appearing in the production and 45 making their professional debuts.

Globally, the play has reached more than 14 million people in five current productions in London, New York, Tokyo, the Netherlands, and a North American tour, and has won a record 60 major awards, including nine Laurence Olivier Awards (the highest total ever awarded to a play) and six Tony Awards. Playwright Jack Thorne said: “Creating ‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child’ has been a truly wonderful experience and we are all delighted to be celebrating 10 years in the West End.” The original two-part production will run at the Palace Theater until September 20. A reimagined version of part starts on October 9.

ARTIFICIAL AMBITION

Yash Raj Movies and Google will co-host an AI filmmaking workshop for India’s creative and production community on August 4 at YRF studios in Mumbai, providing participants with hands-on training with FlowGoogle’s creative AI studio. Among the first events that will place Google’s Flow team within a major international studio environment, the session will focus on integrating AI tools into existing production workflows while maintaining creative control with filmmakers. Optional deep-dive modules and networking with Google’s AI product and engineering teams are also offered. Akshaye WidhaniCEO of Yash Raj Films, said: “We chose to have that conversation early and on our terms, in the room with the people who are building this technology.” Dr. Arathi SethumadhavanResearch director of user experience, technology and society at Google, said: “We are already seeing incredible momentum with Google Flow in India.”

SARawak APPROACH

KC Global Media Asia has unveiled “AXN Ultimate Challenge: Sarawak,” a four-episode adventure competition series produced in association with AXN Asia and the Sarawak Tourism Board. Each 15-minute episode follows two teams of content creators, Khenji Saito and Adam Samuel, and Estelle Fly and Saffron Sharpe, as they compete in challenges drawn from the landscapes and culture of Sarawak, with local figures such as chef Achang Libat and blowpipe masters Cikgu Nyoging and Alfa bringing authenticity to the series. The show is presented by Marcos O’Dea and produced by KCGM Studios. It premieres on AXN Asia’s YouTube channel on July 31, followed by AXN Taiwan’s YouTube channel on August 4, and begins its linear run on AXN East Asia, AXN Singapore, and AXN China on August 4. George Chienco-founder, chairman and CEO of KC Global Media, said: “We hope audiences around the world will be inspired to experience Sarawak for themselves.”