King’s Head Theatre’s La Boheme is an entertaining contemporary update – review
We’re big fans of the King’s Head – Islington’s queer pub theatre – and their LGBTQ+ programming; we’ve covered many of their shows over the years.
Currently playing there is a modern adaptation of Puccini’s opera La Boheme: re-imagined in contemporary London, it is very much an opera-lite production (which is to be expected, given the intimacy of the space).
The running time has been trimmed to 85 minutes without an interval – although there is a 5-minute pause – and the cast has been reduced to just four singers, with the accompaniment provided simply by a keyboardist.
Thankfully it all works very well. Puccini’s Rodolfo has become Rob, who is a struggling writer; Mimi has become Lucas, hiding behind an online persona as Mimi on Grindr; Marcello is now Marcus; and Musetta is now Marissa.
