THAT BASTARD, PUCCINI! Comes to the Park Theatre in July
Performances run Thursday 10th July – Saturday 9th August 2025.
The cast has been announced for That Bastard, Puccini! which is making its world premiere in London this Summer. Written by James Inverne (A Walk With Mr Heifetz, Primary Stages, former Editor of Gramophone Magazine), this compelling new comedy-drama will explore the high-stakes chaos surrounding Giacomo Puccini and Ruggero Leoncavallo’s race to claim La Bohème as their own, leading to a scandalous ‘battle of the Bohemes’, as each created their own version.
Bringing to life a hilarious and captivating tale of musical plagiarism, fierce competition and an explosive rivalry between two of opera’s legendary composers, are Alasdair Buchan (The Mousetrap, West End; The Da Vinci Code, UK Tour) as the ambitious and hot-headed Leoncavallo and Sebastien Torkia (Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors, Menier Chocolate Factory; The Red Shoes, RSC Stratford) as the charismatic and egotistical Giacomo Puccini.
Completing the cast is Lisa-Anne Wood (Wicked, West End; Phantom of the Oprea, West End) as Leoncavallo's wife Berthe, who finds herself increasingly entangled in the chaos of this high-stakes artistic clash.
Audiences will be transported back to 1893, where two of Italy’s most renowned composers, Puccini and Leoncavallo, find themselves locked in an intense rivalry that will shape the future of opera. Puccini is tantalisingly close to being hailed as Italy's newest opera king, yet the two composers are not only fighting for fame and glory but for their place in history, as they confront the true cost of ambition, and creativity, in the pursuit of greatness.
Directed by internationally acclaimed opera and theatre director Daniel Slater (Santa Fe Opera; Orfeo ed Euridice/Dido & Aeneas, Grange Festival; Making Waves, Stephen Joseph Theatre) That Bastard Puccini! invites audiences to delve deeper into the world of Puccini and the great composers, where art is also business, and genius its currency. By turns dramatic and hilarious, the play seeks to explore the true, searing cost of artistic ambition.
Set and costume design will be led by Carly Brownbridge (The Laramie Project, Bristol Old Vic; Agatha, Theatre 503), alongside lighting design from Katy Morison (Two of Us, Watford Palace; HOME Manchester) and sound design from Yvonne Gilbert (Scissorhandz; Southwark Playhouse Elephant; Mother Goose, Hackney Empire).
Supporting the show, will be The Svetlanov Legacy Charity that strives to promote and support the heritage of Evgeny Svetlanov’s compositions, recordings, books and videos of his legendary concerts. They also support the development of the arts by selecting young talents in various musical fields and helping them through scholarships and awards, and utilise the legacy of Maestro Svetlanov to advance the education of the public in, and to further the appreciation and the performance of the art of music.
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