Harry Potter has cast a spell over Huddersfield, and a lecturer at the town’s University will add some extra ingredients, which include a Cabinet of Curiosities in a collection of bizarre objects and the strange stories that go with them.
Nik Taylor is the University’s Subject Area Leader in Drama, Theatre and Performance, and his research speciality is performance magic. Whilst the history of performance magic pre-dates the Potter phenomenon, he is in no doubt that the global popularity of the boy wizard has contributed to a surge of interest in the field, and he is impressed by evidence that J.K. Rowling had plainly carried out her research.