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A night at the opera: That Bastard Puccini! (Park Theatre)

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It’s hard to imagine that it’s only been 130 years since Puccini first premiered La Boheme. Nowadays, it’s a revered classic, and guaranteed to be on any opera company's annual programme if it needs to stay afloat. It’s a crowd pleaser with its melodrama of poor, impoverished artists loving, starving and dying in Paris. But Puccini’s La Boheme had a less auspicious beginning, with one of his contemporaries accusing him of stealing his idea and being poorly received on its first outing. And that’s at the heart of That Bastard Puccini! Currently playing at Park Theatre , writer James Inverne uses the friendship and rivalry between the two composers, Puccini and Ruggero Leoncavallo, to weave a comic tale of creative frustration with an awful lot of facts and tidbits about the opera scene at the time. It’s part comedy, part music appreciation.  It opens with Leoncavallo (Alasdair Buchan) at home with his wife Berthe (Lisa-Anne Wood), cursing about Puccini’s latest work, which is drawn ...

It's a kind of magic: The Sorcerer's Apprentice @tsamusical

 

The story of the Sorcerer's Apprentice is updated to modern tastes in this funny and engaging new family musical. Here a father and his rebellious daughter discover their magic and save their town from a bunch of brooms while making a few observations about parenting, science and the environment. 

Filmed at the Southwark Playhouse in February, it's also a reminder about what we're still missing from live theatre. While it's great to see a new show streamed online, you also have to let your imagination remind you where there would be applause and laughter from this energetic and thoughtful production. Hopefully, we will get the chance to see this show live someday. 

Written by Richard Hough and Ben Morales Frost, the story takes place in a small northern town called Midgard. It's on the brink of environmental destruction due to the endless search for prosperity. Eva, played by Mary Moore (making her professional stage/streaming debut), is a school dropout. But she discovers her talent for magic and activism. Meanwhile, her father (David Thaxton), a widow, struggles to warn the town and deal with such a woke yet unskilled daughter. 


While there are enough plots and subplots that could fill several musicals, it's cleverly put together and the songs are catchy and the production is full of imagination. However, as a family musical, watching it with youngsters be prepared for many questions about environmental impacts,  different types of families and northerners. 

And you can't be too down on the refinery's slightly villainous owner (Marc Pickering). When told off by his mother while wearing a pair of outrageous pyjamas and hugging a teddy bear, he is a sight. 

Directed by Charlotte Westenra, The Sorcerer's Apprentice is streaming now on Stream Theatre until Sunday, 14 March for a total of 22 streaming shows. Hopefully there will be a soundtrack recording of the show available soon as well. It runs for about 2 hours, including a short break. 

Photos by Geraint Lewis

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