A powerful performance which would often have you forgetting they were amateurs.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

On at Curve until June 8th 2024

Rent contains one of my all-time favourite musical numbers, and if you hadn’t guessed, it’s Seasons of Love! It’s the reminder to cherish everyday, to live life to the fullest and to measure life in sunsets, in the beautiful moments, and in love. It’s a song that often would inspire my early writing days and finding beauty in every day, even the darker ones, so to hear it performed so stunningly last night at Curve was an emotional moment.

We are introduced to Roger (Tom Urch) and Mark (Ed Turner) on a cold Christmas Eve in Manhattan. Struggling to make last year’s rent, and battling the elements with cut off electricity. Not helped by the fact Roger is HIV positive. The pair handled their roles with such ease and Urch’s vocals were incredible, especially during Another Day and Without You. Meanwhile, Turner thrived in the clear portrayal of nerdiness and represented the apparent guilt for not having HIV/AIDS clearly. I enjoyed his performance of Tango Maureen with Joanne (Mia Dobney) which had a fun tango scene complemented with members of the company and a bold Maureen (Charlotte Brown) creating a fun yet impactful scene. Their strong friendship is believable in the performance and perfectly portrayed as a friendship that displays them both having similar struggles but in a different way.

Maureen (Charlotte Brown) and Joanne (Mia Dobney) were an excellent casting and would often dominate the stage in vocals and performance. Brown oozed enough sass to make you still root for Maureen despite being a complex character. Dobney was an incredibly strong vocalist, especially in We’re Okay which spotlighted her capacities as a singer.

Another couple of standout members of the cast were Dan Rowberry as Collins, Richie Phillips as Benny and Bethanne Raja in the ensemble.

I have to mention the band, Musical Director and keyboard Steven Duguid, Richard James on the guitar, Peter Fines on guitar and keyboard, Graham Johnson on Bass and Helen Shelton on drums and percussion who were all simply phenomenal and never missed a beat. For a non-stop musical performance, it was simply note perfect.

Under the direction of John Bale, and with fabulous choreography from Carl Robinson-Edwards, especially well exampled in La Vie Boheme and Tango Maureen, Rent is a success!