While J.K. Rowling's
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child plays are considered a
sequel to
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and the official eighty story to the series, it originally wasn't planned that way.
When the first
announcement for the
Harry Potter play came out, two years ago, it was described as such:
Quote:
What was it like to be the boy in the cupboard under the stairs? This brand new play, which will be developed for the UK theatre, will explore the previously untold story of Harry's early years as an orphan and outcast. Featuring some of our favourite characters from the Harry Potter books, this new work will offer a unique insight into the heart and mind of the now legendary young wizard. A seemingly ordinary boy, but one for whom Destiny has plans...
This description, by definition, would be a PREQUEL to the Harry Potter books. Or, at least, the time frame between the first two chapters of
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.
The original story, as stated by Rowling's website, was supposedly following a young Harry before he started Hogwarts. Hence why the production was referred to as the pre-Hogwarts Harry Potter play before the title of the play was revealed earlier this year.
Now the plot for
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: Part I and II reads as thus:
Quote:
It was always difficult being Harry Potter and it isn’t much easier now that he is an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband and father of three school-age children.
While Harry grapples with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs, his youngest son Albus must struggle with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted. As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn the uncomfortable truth: sometimes, darkness comes from unexpected places.
The story somehow, inexplicably (as of now), shifted from telling young Harry's story to following adult Harry and his son Albus. Since the play takes place after the Deathly Hallows epilogue, which falls on September 1, 2017, Harry would be at least 37 years old, and Al - the titular
Cursed Child - is at least 11 years ago.
So while Rowling was endlessly annoyed about fans calling
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child a prequel, it wasn't without reason. The original synopsis from Rowling's
official website described the play as being about Harry's time before Hogwarts. That's not a sequel to
Deathly Hallows... that's almost a prequel to the entire series itself (if not for the first chapter of Philosopher's/Sorcerer's Stone).
There is a chance that the play may show young Harry sometime throughout it - as a flashback scene - but the major time shifts between plots seems curious.
The question remains: Was the plot shifted from child Harry to adult Harry and his son, or will it feature BOTH child and adult Harry? 
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Harry Potter and the Cursed Child plays could be sequels with young Harry flashbacks 
