Rent

This has long been one of my favourite shows from seeing the original West End version in 1998 to many other amateur productions since and Producing the North West Amateur Premiere at my home society. I know the show backwards but it has been a couple of years since I saw it last. There was a lot of talent in this production and I genuinely thoroughly enjoyed the show. 

The staging looked fabulous with good lighting and sound. I was rather intrigued by the catwalk which initially I thought was great but for me wasn’t used enough and certainly wasn’t lit well. The costumes and props suited the time and characters.

Some of the direction didn’t quite work for me. Having a catwalk and then not really using it and a lot of the numbers were placed at the back of the stage rather than bringing the action forward. Some of the cast were too old for their parts although some members hid this better than others.

The musical direction worked well with harmonies on the ensemble numbers and Seasons of Love sounded stunning. I was disappointed with the final death scene of Mimi as at Roger’s cry in “Your Eyes” of Mimi I was expecting lead guitar for the Musetta’s waltz chords but only heard keyboard. Overall a great job though with great balance between band and cast.

The choreography was super and worked well as many of the numbers are more movement than sheer dance and these numbers looked very effective.

Simeon Green was very good as Roger the struggling musician. With great rock vocals on his numbers and clear diction he delivered the part of Roger extremely well although I wasn’t convinced he was in love with Mimi.

Joe Clarke was wonderful as Mark and one of the best interpretations of this role I have seen in the many times I have seen this show. This part is often the weak character, a bit nondescript, but not in this show. Joe’s portrayal, played thoughtfully and as the narrator and observer of the others lives was never out of character and felt very real with a nervousness which I liked.

Mimi was nicely played by Louise Colohan with a great look and vocals although I felt Louise looked a little uncomfortable in the role of a hard slutty selfish junkie who in the main doesn’t have many redeeming features. Her scenes with Roger didn’t have enough chemistry to convince me they were in love but I loved the fantastic vocals on Seasons of Love and interaction with the other cast members.

Sarah Masterson as Maureen wasn’t wild or crazy enough for me but she had nice vocals and I enjoyed “Take Me or Leave Me” with Joanne who was excellently played by Alicia Whittaker. Alicia’s diction was brilliant and I could hear every word she sang and she played the powerful business woman role really well.

Michael Dyer made a nice Benny and “You’ll See” was beautifully delivered. This role is a difficult one to portray and come out of looking good but Michael managed this especially in the scenes after the funeral.

Ben Mackenzie Birkett looked and sounded sweet as Angel and I loved the choice of costumes for this part. His death scene was well choreographed and he acted well against Chris Fox as Tom Collins who stole the show for me. Chris has the most beautiful vocals which perfectly suited the range Collins needs and his empathy to the character was stunning to watch. I could’ve listened to the reprise of “I’ll Cover You” over and over and the harmonies from the rest of the cast were also beautiful to give the full effect on this number. His acting was totally believable. Well done Chris.

This was a great version of this show with strong vocals and performances from both principals and ensemble members.

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