Rent

Last night I had a great evening out at the Squire Performing Arts Centre in Nottingham watching Rent by Spotlight Theatre Company. The Squire is a lovely venue with comfortable seats and wherever you sit, you have a clear view of the action on stage.

Set in New York’s East Village, Rent follows a group of young artists and musicians who are trying to survive and find their place in the world while living under the shadow of HIV/AIDS. This is a story about friendship, love, loss, ambition and the importance of living for today! Jonathan Larson’s musical is based on Puccini’s La Bohème and follows Roger, Mark, Mimi, Tom Collins, Angel, Maureen and Joanne as their lives become increasingly intertwined.

I have seen Rent many times over the years and it is a musical I absolutely love, so I was particularly looking forward to seeing what Spotlight Theatre Company would bring to this production.

Vivialyn Joynson played Roger. I have to admit, when I first saw this production advertised and noticed that Roger was being played by a female performer, I was dubious. Having seen Rent many times, this was something I had never seen before. However, I had absolutely no reason to be doubtful because Vivialyn completely smashed it! She looked the part, captured Roger beautifully and has a fantastic rock voice that really suits the score. She also played the guitar live on stage and her rendition of "One Song Glory" was one of the highlights of the evening. Playing opposite Vivialyn was Erin Hanby, who played Mimi and sang beautifully. I particularly enjoyed Erin’s performance of “Without You”.

David Page played Mark, and I genuinely think David was born to play this role. He had the character down to a tee and sang brilliantly throughout. His diction was particularly clear, which is so important in Rent, and especially for Mark as he is the storyteller and helps guide the audience through the musical. I loved David's interaction with all of the other characters, there was a great deal of detail in David's characterisation, he obviously really understood Mark and made the role his own.

Tom Collins was played by Patrick McChrystal and Wow! Patrick's vocal range and talent is fantastic. His voice is simply beautiful and hearing him sing the reprise of "I'll Cover You" genuinely brought tears to my eyes. He shows a lovely rapport with Angel, and together they created a relationship that felt very genuine.

I have had the pleasure of seeing Lu Anthony play Angel a few years ago, so I already knew this was going to be a fabulous performance, and I was absolutely right! As soon as Lu enters the scene, your eyes immediately go to them. I loved the trousers in the opening, very funny! Lu looked stunning throughout and captured the kindness and warmth of Angel beautifully. The ending was played particularly well, with Lu bringing out the vulnerability of Angel. I loved “Today for You” which was full of energy and pizzazz, Lu absolutely owned the stage.

Eliza Hill played Maureen and really brought this fabulous character to life, embracing every bit of her eccentricity and larger-than-life personality. The infamous mooing scene was hilarious and she got the whole audience joining in with the mooooing!  Her duet with Laura McChrystal as Joanne in “Take Me or Leave Me” was cracking. The contrast between Eliza's wonderfully outrageous Maureen and Laura's more controlled, professional Joanne worked very well together.

Laura Thurman played Jenny, rather than the traditionally male Benny. Jenny is the landlord/property owner who is demanding the rent and has a complicated history with Mark, Roger and their friends. Laura made the role her own, bringing a strong presence to this character.

There was a large ensemble throughout this production, taking on a range of roles including homeless people, police officers, the drug dealer, parents and the various people encountered throughout the story. They did a great job contributing well to the busy world of Rent. A special mention must go to Preston Nash, who was the waiter in "La Vie Bohème". This is such a difficult song because of its speed, lyrics and sheer amount of information, but Preston handled it brilliantly. I would also like to mention Brogan Haynes and Emily Holder, who both sang lovely solo sections in "Seasons of Love".

The show was directed well by Liam Petruccio-Hall. The set, which was based around scaffolding, worked particularly well, with the upper sections being used effectively throughout the production. The choreography was created by Bethany Wear and executed well by the whole cast. There was noticeably more choreography in this production than in some versions of Rent that I have seen, and the use of different choreography throughout the show was refreshing and gave the ensemble plenty to do.

A massive shout-out must go to Vicky Moroziuk, the Musical Director, who has done a brilliant job teaching all those harmonies and working with this incredibly talented young band. It was so nice to hear a live band and actually see them on stage. These days, so many groups use tracks, so it is always a pleasure when a company has a band playing live, particularly when they are as talented as this young group.

The band consisted of Noah Gamba and Josh Harrison-Bett on drums, Austin Owen on lead guitar, Oscar Lambert-Smith on rhythm guitar, Isabella Raisin-Moss on bass, and Vicky Moroziuk on keys. They produced a powerful sound that was absolutely right for this great rock score. They are certainly stars of the future, and I hope we get to see and hear much more from them.

Well done to Bronwen Webster, Stage Manager and the stage crew as there were lots of set and scene changes throughout this production to manage. The lighting by Oliver Read was excellent and really helping create different moods throughout the show. The sound by Rob Kettridge was also very good with a great balance between the live band and the vocals, every word could be heard clearly, which is essential for a show like Rent.

Congratulations to everyone involved in Spotlight Theatre Company’s production of Rent and I hope you enjoy the rest of the week. I look forward to seeing your next production of the pantomime Goldilocks and the Three Bears at the Arts Theatre in Nottingham.

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