RENT – The Brindley Theatre

Directed and Choreographed by Donna Dale, Assistant Director Charlotte Allmand, Assistant Choreographer John Sprung-Murphy and Musical Director Craig Price have produced the latest D&S Production of ‘Rent’.

Set in the East Village of New York City, ‘Rent’ is about falling in love, finding your voice, and living for today. Winner of the Tony Award for Best Musical and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, ‘Rent’ has become a pop culture phenomenon. ‘Rent’ follows a year in the life of a group of penniless young artists and musicians struggling to survive and create in New York’s Lower East Side, under the shadow of HIV/AIDS.

Johnathon Larson’s 1996 rock musical focus is around the interconnected lives of three couples: Roger (Elliott Tutt) and Mimi (Sara Haynes), Maureen (Francesca Forbes) and Joanne (Jen Ellison), and Collins (Kriss James) and Angel (Mark Wilson). At the heart of the musical is an exploration of identity within LGBTQ + Community, encompassing conversations on drug addiction, financial pressure, and grief within the context of the AIDS crisis at the end of the 20th century. Mark (Jack Parry) is an aspiring filmmaker who narrates the show as he films the lives of his friends.

The production team have done an amazing job on the set design, lighting, costume, also the live band enhances the performance, all put together they have created the perfect staging for this production. 

Excellent casting of Mark as Parry delivered a sterling performance with his strong vocals, acting and dance skills. The strongest coupling was that of Tutt and Haynes as they gave the audience such authenticity of the characters displaying the courage, vulnerability and truthfulness of Roger and Mimi. The harmonies and vocals of this pair were outstanding and their rendition of ‘Without You’ was magnificent.

James and Wilson gave a heart-warming delivery of Collins and Angel, with a rollercoaster of emotions within the script. Huge credit to Wilson as the role of Angel is iconic and pinnacle to the plot of ‘Rent’ and can be a challenging role for any accomplished actor, however he delivered a faultless performance with his fabulous interpretation. Wilson’s rendition of ‘I’ll Cover You’ captured the character of Angel in all his/her kindness, affection, and hope on every occasion he/she appeared on stage.

Ellison’s and Forbes rendition of ‘Take Me or Leave Me’ was superb as this is an extremely challenging number to sing, in spite of that they certainly did the song justice in every aspect for which I applaud them.

It is clear that every cast member has put their heart and soul into the performance, ‘Rent’ isn’t the easiest repertoire with its demanding vocal range and can be a train crash at times to the untrained. D&S Production Team and cast have created a first-class performance of ‘Rent’ with one of the most impressive harmonies I have witnessed when the whole cast sang ‘Rent’, ‘Santa Fe’, ‘La Vie Boheme’, ‘Contact’ and of course the infamous ‘Seasons of Love’. They have also managed to create a tremendous interpretation of Angel’s passing as I have experienced many failings from other staging’s on the delivery of this specific scene.

Well done to all involved, personal highlight of the evening was Elliott Tutt who I believe has recently swapped the backstage for performing again after graduating from Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts (LIPA) in 2018. This young man’s vocal were phenomenal – he reminded me of a Jean Valjean, he must never go backstage again as he has a talent that should be showcased and celebrated.

The show runs until Saturday the 13^th of May 2023, I would highly recommend that you try and get a ticket before it is completely sold out as this is a marvellous execution of ‘Rent’ in all its glory.

Reviewer: Katie Leicester

Reviewed: 10th May 2023

North West End UK Rating: