Review: RENT at Tom Stoppard Theatre

One of the abiding memories of my first decade of making regular trips to NYC, was the sheer vibrancy, energy and enthusiasm for life which the city and those who lived in it seemed to possess. Whether rich or poor, everyone was ‘living it large’. Friends at the squat (which had sheets tied together and wrapped around a pole to be thrown out the window and used as a fire escape should the need arise), took me up skyscrapers, for private tours around the Sesame Street studio, the private rooms of the New York City Library, and on one memorable occasion for lunch at a penthouse apartment opposite the one owned by Grace Jones. As I walked down the entrance hallway hung with paintings by Picasso, Matisse and Warhol, you could hear her dulcet tones a way off, shouting at her cleaner. It was totally surreal and absolutely bloody marvellous.

In late 1996, I finally got to see the show everyone had been raving about, Jonathan Larson’s RENT. I was utterly dazzled. Heartbreaking and poignant, filled with triple threat performers, and for a politically active creative, it gained plus points for shining a spotlight on the huge impact which the AIDS crisis was having, particularly on the lives of young people in New York. Hearing the songs again through this new London production directed by Luke Sheppard and designed by David Woodhead, brought back significant memories.

Based loosely on parallels drawn between the young students in Puccini’s La bohème and tenement living at NYC’s Alphabet City, the characters are an eclectic mix of straight and gay creative types - the likes of which I found myself mixing with. In RENT they argue, fly in and out of love, flaunt, fight, film and fall off the rails. Each is a person you can appreciate for their quirks and irritating foibles, their earnestness or flamboyance. Among the notable cast for this production, are Stranger Things star Gaten Matarazzo as documentary film maker Mark, Travis Ross as Roger, Alexa Lopez as Mimi and Billy Nevers as Tom Collins. Other principals who make their mark include Lazy Violet as Maureen, Danielle Fiamanya as Joanne, Jeevan Braich as Angel and Joaquin Pedro Valdes as Benny and Leah Vassell whose sassy charm and stratospheric notes did not go unnoticed.

Choreographed by Tom Jackson Greaves, the cast perform on the revolve stage they share in close proximity with audience members and the 6-piece band ranged across a gantry which is wrapped around and above the stage. Energy levels are immense throughout, though some of the over earnestness begins to drag a little towards the latter stages of the 2 hours and 45mins running time. Highlights for me, were Joanne and Mark’s “Tango: Maureen”, Angel, Collins and Mark’s “Santa Fe” in the first half, and “Seasons of Love” (with its instantly recognisable hook “Five hundred, Twenty-Five thousand, Six hundred minutes“) in the second.

The show has already extended its anticipated run well into next year and looks set to be a huge box office success. Is it as good as the Broadway original, or the late 1990s transfer to the Shaftesbury Theatre? Debatable. Is it a terrific piece with notable performances from a talented cast? Undoubtedly. And that’s probably all you really need to know.

Rent Tickets