Rent

This Rock musical tells the story of an impoverished group of young people struggling to survive in New York in the shadow of HIV/AIDS. It is based on the story of La Bohème by Puccini but set in the 1980’s, with a bohemian group of artists at the centre of the story. It was such a huge contrast to Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, that the Masqueraders performed only 4 months ago but, as usual with this group, they embraced the gritty reality of the piece and handled the story with sensitivity.

The set worked extremely well, having taken the decision to strip everything right back to basics on the stage, which gave an effective New York loft feel. Lots of levels were then added to give varied spaces for the action to take place. Scene changes were handled efficiently and at pace mainly by cast members and in a way which never distracted or interrupted the action. Lighting was also well designed to match the mood and atmosphere of each scene.

The action began in Roger and Mark’s loft on Christmas Eve and both gave excellent performances. Roger, the struggling musician/song-writer, is a very demanding role vocally but he rose to the challenge with some effortless high notes and a voice that was ideally suited the rock style of the music. Likewise, Mark was entirely believable as the aspiring film maker documenting the demise of his neighbourhood and successfully creating a strong narrative thread that ran through the whole musical and engaged the audience.

Mimi had excellent characterisation throughout and a fine singing voice. In her opening number ‘Light my Candle’ with Roger we sensed the tension as they slowly gravitated towards each other. Their ensuing love story was both poignant and believable and the quirky, likeable, but ultimately tragic nature of the character shone through.

Angel was another well drawn character with strong vocals and a very natural performance style. Her relationship with Tom was lovely to watch and the death scene very sensitively and cleverly handled as she ‘slipped away’ during a song. 

Performance artist Maureen relished the outrageous antics of the character and provided a great contrast to the more sensible persona of her girlfriend Joanne. In their number ‘Take me or Leave Me’ we witnessed both anger and desire, but ultimately a couple with a strong bond who clearly couldn’t Iive without each other. Both sang and moved extremely well.

Other good character work was provided by Benny and the various ‘mothers’ who left telephone messages for their children throughout.

There were amazing harmonies from the ensemble who had obviously worked hard with the Musical Director. I especially loved the rich sound in ‘Life Support’ and ‘Will I?’ which were both beautifully balanced and, of course, ‘Seasons of Love’ which was exceptional. The ensemble were a real powerhouse when they all sang together and Grace’s voice soared above them in ‘Seasons of Love’; stunning!

The whole performance was very thoughtfully directed to bring out each person’s story within the musical with sensitivity. It was both poignant and uplifting and the set and music really enhanced the storytelling. Another cracking piece of theatre from the Masqueraders. Many congratulations to you all.

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