Review: THAT BASTARD, PUCCINI!, Park Theatre

Photo credit: David Monteith-Hodge

Set in 1893, That Bastard, Puccini! dramatises a little-known but fascinating rivalry between two titans of Italian opera: Giacomo Puccini (Sebastien Torkia) and Ruggero Leoncavallo (Alasdair Buchan). As both composers race to bring La Bohème to the stage, which is based on Henry Murger’s Scènes de la vie de Bohème, their now-fractured friendship is tested under the weight of ambition, ego, and the hunger for artistic immortality.

Playwright James Inverne, with a background in arts journalism and an eclectic relationship with music across mediums, brings an informed and affectionate eye to the story. His interest in this overlooked chapter of musical history feels both archival and with a genuine desire to explore how artistic legacy is shaped, claimed, and at times, stolen.

Historically, Puccini was on the cusp of fame in this time, with the opera that would secure his legacy almost within reach. Leoncavallo, a respected composer in his own right, was left feeling sidelined when Puccini’s version of La Bohème premiered first which ultimately became the definitive one. Inverne’s script positions Leoncavallo as the underdog, and understandably so. Yet the audience’s foreknowledge of the outcome inevitably lowers the emotional stakes. It’s hard to root for someone when we know the game is already lost.

That said, the tension between the two men is well established in the work, though it sometimes slips into petty bickering. There are also hints of deeper themes; masculine ego, the cost of success, the fragility of friendship under the weight of greatness, however, these remain explored only at surface level. The dramatic arc relies heavily on the idea of rivalry, but never quite lands a knockout blow in terms of consequence or character transformation.

Torkia delivers an engaging performance as Puccini, convincingly portraying him as a charismatic golden child, full of confidence and calculation. Buchan as Leoncavallo is equally strong, bringing a grounded sincerity that captures both the quiet tragedy and occasional patheticness of his position. Lisa-Anne Wood offers a dignified counterpoint as Berthe, Leoncavallo’s wife, a figure of calm, reason, and quiet strength. Her operatic moments are among the show’s most dynamic, briefly connecting us to the emotional world the characters are striving to compose.

The production, directed by Daniel Slater, makes clever use of minimal staging and a cast of three playing multiple roles, handled with a certain stylistic self-awareness. Slater’s direction embraces the play’s theatricality and absurdity but, at times, struggles to find a consistent rhythm between comedy and emotional depth. Not all stylistic conventions land quite as successfully. The humour is patchy; some moments sparkle, others feel undercooked. Accent work is uneven, though clearly used with a degree of theatrical licence and playfulness that suits the show’s irreverent tone.

Musical moments are fleeting, which seems right considering it is the events between the music that the play focuses on, however, or a play centred on one of opera’s greatest works, it sometimes feels as though the piece undermines La Bohème itself, reducing it to a question of who could produce it better or faster. Or is this, perhaps, part of the point, a commentary on the hollowness of artistic one-upmanship, contrasted with the messy beauty of the bohemian lives that inspired the original opera?

Inverne’s time-appropriate musical references and name-drops will delight opera lovers. His inclusion of facts from after the core timeline adds a metatheatrical flair that reflects the absurdity of two competing La Bohèmes. Still, the narrative occasionally gets tangled in its own cleverness, and would benefit from a clearer emotional throughline.

Ultimately, That Bastard, Puccini! is a play about ambition, legacy, and the stories we tell and about art. It doesn’t always hit the high notes, but its heart is in the right place. And in its final moments, it finds what Puccini’s own opera so famously captured: beauty, pain, and the longing to create something that lasts.

*** Three stars

Reviewed by: Stephanie Osztreicher

That Bastard, Puccini! plays at London’s Park Theatre until 9 August, with further info here.