As you grow older, you learn the value of differing perspectives. Things that were once black and white become blurry and complex. Observing issues from many sides gives us a better understanding of the world we live in. What if — and this is playwright Matt Cox’s bold ask — we viewed magical adolescent wizard education through the eyes of a loser named Wayne instead of a hero named Harry?

“Puffs, or Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic and Magic,” written by Cox and onstage now at Know Theatre of Cincinnati, gives a fresh perspective on our cherished wizarding children. Instead of witnessing the 7 years at a school for magic kids through the eyes of the eventual hero and his eventually heroic friends, we see them through the eyes of the losers. Imagine, if you will, the world from the bottom, not from the top, and you’ve got the premise of “Puffs.”

I’ll admit, and the friend who joined me will attest, I cackled my way through this performance. I slap my legs when something is particularly funny to me, a habit I inherited from my late grandfather. My legs were tender the next day. The cleverness of the script, taking us through 7 years of wizarding school in around 2 hours, is half of the joy. The bigger half was the absolute absurd comedic precision of the cast.

With a cast of 11, they staged a surprisingly large world, with wizards from three other houses, monsters, “death buddies” and more. Costume changes, voice shifts and scene swaps led to a fast-moving panoply of absurdity. Viewed one way, Harry and the kids grew up much like any other kids, albeit with magic. From Cox’s perspective, they faced inappropriately adult situations like getting drunk in a pub and constantly crossing paths with death on the school grounds. Sounds serious, plays out as hilarious.

Clearly there are multiple sides to every story. This one tells many. Ben Dudley as lovable wizard loser Wayne Hopkins is the perfect anti-hero. Andrew Ian Williams as ill-fated under-hero Cedric is as carefree and cool as you could want. The replay I keep reaching for, as I try to explain this cataclysm of activity to my friends, is Brianna Bernard as a “mean” dragon. Her giving the finger to the audience slayed me. Pun intended. Sorry.

If you have even the faintest interest in the Harry Potter world, go see this show. You’ll love the fun spin it puts on the characters we (or our kids, or our friends) grew up with. It’s rated PG-13, but it definitely has some strong language. It is 2019 though, so maybe that’s accurate.

“Puffs” runs at Know Theatre through December 21.

John David Back is a Cincinnati native who lives and works in OTR. He’s an avid reader and a mediocre writer who loves the experience of art and beauty. Tell him what he should experience and send fan mail to johndavidback@gmail.com.