Review: Rent, Hope Mill Theatre

Photo credit: Pamela Raith

When Rent burst onto the scene, no one could have predicted the legacy it would create. Loosely based on Puccini’s La Boheme, the story tells of a group of impoverished and struggling artists living in New York’s alphabet city against the backdrop of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Rent quickly became a lifeline for the unsung minorities and artists who felt oppressed by society and desperately craved a voice.

When its writer and creator Jonathan Larson tragically died the night before its Off-Broadway run, his central message “No day but today” resonated through the cultural impact of his work and created a legacy clearly still as affecting today as it was then.

In a year when art has been unapologetically stifled, it seems appropriate for Hope Mill Theatre to have fought so hard for their production to see the light of day, and with them only managing five public performances before being forced to close due to the latest governmental lockdown, the passionate message of the show has never been screamed more loudly.  

Hope Mill Theatre has cultivated an incredible reputation for producing arresting and empowering theatre, and their production of Rent takes the insanely high bar they’ve already set themselves and blasts it into the stratosphere. For a show that essentially explores community and the concept of family being more than what you are born into, the show resonates more powerfully at a time when an entire industry is banding together to survive in what feels like an artistic post apocalypse.

Luke Sheppard has crafted an incredibly detailed and delicately nuanced show, allowing his cast to strip everything back and channel the raw emotional beauty of the piece. Placing the entire cast socially distanced around the stage enforces the concept of a shared space of community, allowing them to invest in the action that unfolds and commenting on how the decisions made by the characters at that point in their journey can affect those who surround them. The choreography provided by Tom Jackson Greaves gives the piece one of its most profound voices. His movement allows the cast to dance as one cohesive family, allowing each character to maintain their individuality, whilst simultaneously encapsulating the freneticism, anger and frustration they all feel towards the society they’re trapped in.  

Pearson Casting has served us an entire platter of vocal perfection within this cast of twelve. Each person proves within a strong twenty seconds of the opening number why they were born to be there. I think this is the first time I’ve witnessed a single show contain so many varied but equally powerful and technically flawless vocal performances.

An essential facet of this show is found within its diversity of voices. A kaleidoscope of vocal textures allows this score to transcend any versions that have ever been sung of it previously. The show embodies a group of different people uniting with one common and strong voice and nowhere has this been reflected more powerfully before. Rent has always quite rightly been celebrated for its commitment to reflect the colours of society within its casting but too commonly over the past few years, this has been diluted. It was overwhelmingly refreshing to see such a diverse representation in this production. This coupled with the authenticity of a cast that included people who identify as genderqueer and LGBTQIA+ created a beautiful family on stage. This production is a glorious reflection of what a true community looks like; also allowing people to tell their own stories with their own voices.

The talent of this cast is not just contained to the standard of their vocal abilities. Too often I feel Roger is over played angst but Tom Francis’ unbridled raw emotional depth opens up Roger’s internal struggles and his inability to handle the multitude of feelings he has, navigating an incredibly mature journey throughout. Considering he only graduated this year, saying he’s destined to become a star would be the biggest understatement of the century.

Dom Hartley-Harris’ Collins exudes confidence, likability and self-awareness. His tender moments with Alex Thomas-Smith’s heartfelt and sass-filled Angel are a beautiful contrast but he really proves his mettle in his rendition of ‘I’ll Cover You (Reprise)’. Hartley-Harris navigates the emotional terrain of this mountain of a song with sophistication and heartbreaking connection, not to mention the whole theatre was in pieces knowing they’d witnessed a performance that will go down in the history of musical theatre.

Millie O’Connell played a quirky, unconventional and off-the-wall Maureen, which exploded across the stage when she needed to, but could also invoke fits of laughter and empathy with merely a facial expression. Ahmed Hamad played Benny with poise and sophistication, finding a perfect balance of that love/hate relationship the audience has with his character throughout.

Jocasta Almgill’s Joanne was refreshingly likable, funny and beautifully measured throughout. This really shone in ‘Tango: Maureen’ playing off of Blake Patrick Anderson’s Mark, who managed to beautifully convey the isolation that Mark feels as a constant bubble under the surface. Maiya Quansah-Breed conveyed a really understated Mimi that I had never seen before; she managed to give Mimi all the power she needed from a grounded and organic place.

Isaac Hesketh and Bethany Terry provided gorgeous moments as part of the ensemble for the duration, particularly shining with their visceral embodiment of the choreography. Finally, the work of Allie Daniel and Kayla Carter throughout and their solo sections in the iconic ‘Seasons of love’ were imbued with a brazen intense honesty that was palpable.  

Katy Richardson’s musical supervision and Chris Poon’s musical direction was exceptionally thought out, not only did the band sound great but they allowed the cast to have ownness over their individual vocals when it was necessary. You could tell there was a strong symbiotic partnership throughout and it was beautiful. Similarly was the relationship between Set Designer David Woodhead and Lighting Designer Howard Hudson. They created an affecting and relatable space for the action to unfold. It was set in New York of course but the beauty was in the reflection that it could have been for anyone, anywhere, at any time, which is probably the most important and overriding feeling to take away from this particular production of Rent. 

2020 has been a turbulent year, especially for the arts. It also marks the fact that Rent has officially been off Broadway as long as it ran on it, so it seems like a pretty poignant time to bring it back to the world. With the ability to be able to now live stream the recorded performance of the show, Hope Mill Theatre have again done what Rent set out to portray, that art is and should be accessible for everyone. Buy your tickets, support theatre, support its power, its vibrancy, its vitality, its viability, because the importance of it cannot be measured… except in love. 

***** Five stars

Reviewed by: Duncan Burt