Alasdair Buchan in That Bastard Puccini! [David Monteith-Hodge / Photographise]

JAMES Inverne’s dramedy explores the rivalry – and fractured friendship – between two legendary composers. Ruggero Leoncavallo (Alasdair Buchan) is convinced that Giacomo Puccini (Sebastien Torkia) is stealing his opera ideas.

He vents his frustration to his younger wife Berthe (Lisa Anne Wood). Both men, it turns out, had been reading Henri Murger’s episodic novel, Scènes de la vie de Bohème, about impoverished Parisian artists.

The play centres on a pivotal meeting in a Milan café in 1893, when the composers discover that they are simultaneously adapting Murger’s work.

Leoncavallo, who had enjoyed success the previous year with Pagliacci, is furious, insisting he had the idea first.

What ensues is a race to claim La Bohème as their own, as each sets out to create his version. Both are desperate to inherit Verdi’s crown, and Leoncavallo grows increasingly anxious that Puccini’s brilliance will eclipse his own.

Although Leoncavallo’s La Bohème enjoyed some early success, Puccini’s stood the test of time, ultimately overshadowing his rival’s work.

Inverne gives each composer the opportunity to present his version of events, and introduces a playful cameo from Mahler – a deliberately poor impersonation by Torkia – who sides with Puccini.

Since we already know the ending, some plot points inevitably feel rather contrived and the metatheatrical asides occasionally distract from the drama.

Still, Buchan and Torkia mine their characters’ pomposity to great comic effect. Daniel Slater’s production is beautifully staged, aided by Carly Brownbridge’s adaptable set, and Wood delivers snatches of arias with great charm, vividly conveying the distinct musical styles of the two men.

That Bastard Puccini! is an irreverent and enjoyable, if slightly uneven, show.

Until August 9
parktheatre.co.uk/