I went to see Rent Remixed on the 29th Jan. It was awful!!!! I love Rent and I was so disappointed, the actors where all wrong for the parts, the vocals where weak and what was with the arrangements?! The worst part was Jesse Wallace in Take me or Leave me, what was she thinking? Very poor and in a complete different key to the poor girl singing joannes part. Angel was played completely wrong aswell, he is supposed to be loved by the end but I was so glad he was gone! Very disappointed, where was all the grunge?? And did anyone notice how weird Benny was when he sang? What was with all the shaking and moving? - Katie
05 Feb 08
Saw the show on 23rd January and thought it was great. Yes I am a Rent fan anyway, and could see why it wouldn't appeal to a wide audience from a ticket sales perspective but I can't understand why it's had the slating reviews it's had. Jessie Wallace was absolutly amazing and was surpsied at the quality of her singing voice. Selfishly I hope this tours, unfortunately the ticket sales won't be great but it would be a great shame for it to close. First Class show - Rob
24 Jan 08
I loved this! I am gutted its closing on Feb 2nd but I have to say its the best stage show i have seen for years (and I have seen a few!) I loved it so much when I went last November that I have been back now 7 times! ;o)
I did not know the story before I went but now I know the songs word perfect. I loved the chemistry of the actors and the I really belived you could tell they were enjoying themselves, this reflected in this believable, stunning performances. I was so moved, esp in the final song between Roger and Mimi which literally rended me speachless through tears.
- Louise W
22 Jan 08
I knew I shouldn't have gone, but I couldn't resist. I loved Rent the first time round; it was passionate, edgy and had real heart - I went three times and have played the score continuously since. Musical theatre is very different to pop staging and I'm afraid the creative team here have turned it into a heartless and joyless pop concert. It's a shame, because there is clearly talent on the stage.....but they are directed to shout rather than sing and overact bigtime. There's no subtlety and no passion and a great score sounds simply dreadful. It is isn't a remix, it's a massacre. Save up for the airfare and head for NYC where the original is rightly still playing. - Gareth James
17 Jan 08
I'm not sure what everyone's on about here and I agree with Dave Woolrich in saying that I wouldn't have booked, based on these reviews, but thankfully, I got 2 tickets for a birthday present and went last night and it was FAB! I've got something to compare it to though - I've seen the original on Broadway, so it has an unfair advantage - but I've still given this production 4 stars. The casting was brilliant, the stage presence of all of the cast, including the ensemble, is electric and it just flowed so well. Even the stark white stage, which hits you square between the eyes when you walk in, really works very well. Even my partner followed the story, which after reading these reviews, I was worried he wouldn't, but he had absolutely no trouble understanding what was going on, so I'm not sure how people are getting lost, it's not exactly a very confusing storyline. I think everyone just needs to be watching all the goings-on on stage right from the word go so that nothing is missed, because everything that goes on, whether it be centre stage or up above the scrolling taglines, has some significance to the story. The only negative thing I have to mention is that in the second half, it seemed as if the wires had got crossed with the Tops Of The Pops studios and the first few songs are sung with a perpetual disco rock tune going in the background, which is very distracting, but thankfully, it only occurs for the 1st 20 minutes of the second half and then the soundtrack is back to normal again. DVO is absolutely fantastic as Maureen, in a very different interpretation of the character for those of you who have seen the Broadway production, but still very, very good. The audience interraction gave a refreshing comedic interlude just after interval. Every person on that stage is a star, absolutely highly recommended! - Lindsay
21 Nov 07
I'm not sure what everyone's on about here and I agree with Dave Woolrich in saying that I wouldn't have booked, based on these reviews, but thankfully, I got 2 tickets for a birthday present and went last night and it was FAB! I've got something to compare it to though - I've seen the original on Broadway, so it has an unfair advantage - but I've still given this production 4 stars. The casting was brilliant, the stage presence of all of the cast, including the ensemble, is electric and it just flowed so well. Even the stark white stage, which hits you square between the eyes when you walk in, really works very well. Even my partner followed the story, which after reading these reviews, I was worried he wouldn't, but he had absolutely no trouble understanding what was going on, so I'm not sure how people are getting lost, it's not exactly a very confusing storyline. I think everyone just needs to be watching all the goings-on on stage right from the word go so that nothing is missed, because everything that goes on, whether it be centre stage or up above the scrolling taglines, has some significance to the story. The only negative thing I have to mention is that in the second half, it seemed as if the wires had got crossed with the Tops Of The Pops studios and the first few songs are sung with a perpetual disco rock tune going in the background, which is very distracting, but thankfully, it only occurs for the 1st 20 minutes of the second half and then the soundtrack is back to normal again. DVO is absolutely fantastic as Maureen, in a very different interpretation of the character for those of you who have seen the Broadway production, but still very, very good. The audience interraction gave a refreshing comedic interlude just after interval. Every person on that stage is a star, absolutely highly recommended! - Lindsay
21 Nov 07
I really don't know why people are so negative. I saw the show for the second time on Wednesday evening and I really enjoyed it. I have been to see it before and I honestly think that the understudies did a superb job, I really do think the cast were amazing. I just think people will automatically hate this show because it's REMIXED and they won't open their minds.. U need to see past that?!? I did..
Wednesday night was great, Craig was an excellent Angel, he had feelings, moves and humour, Jamie as Benny was really great too, he has a gorgeous voice. Ruth actually brought an emotion to Mimi's character (which I didn't feel or see the last time I saw the show) and I really connected to her, and CJ as Maureen, I actually think she's better than Denise but again that is my opinion and I don't expect people to agree with me but she was very very suited to the role.
- Heidi
11 Nov 07
I have read with interest the other reviews on this site and almost didn't book because the reviews were so poor. However I'm glad I did and make no appologies for giving this 5 stars as I was entertained and moved. I booked through See-Tickets and was unable to have a reserved seat as I always like to choose from the seating plan. I ended up in row D in the stalls on the general reservation policy which was fine but I almost felt I was on stage with the cast as it was so close! The performance I viewed was on Tuesday 6th November 2007 evening. I ususally pay a lot more than £35.00 for a ticket so no complaints at all. Initially on entering the theatre I was very disappointed that DVO was not performing however, that's life. Having seen the DVD and owned the original broadway cast CD played over and over I was very much looking forward to this re-vamped show. I am no theatre critic but I comment on what I see and experience. I see a lot of West End shows frequently because it's a passion of mine. I loved the minimalistic and modern stage - like Blood Brothers 50 years later! The three understudies, I thought were excellent. Fair enough, the actor playing Mimi wasn't too powerful but isn't that the character she plays? From where I was sitting there was plenty of emotion in her performance. All the others were just great and put everything into their roles. Each one had a superb voice with what must be a very challenging score. I notice that one person commented on the fact that they could not follow the story. But, again, isn't that the case for most theatre productions, particularly musicals. Before booking I always make a point of either buying the original cast recording or DVD or both, otherwise you are listening to a load of unfamiliar songs which doesn't help in following the story. I have to admit to really liking the re-mix. As an avid Madonna fan the inclusion of "Holiday" in "New Year" was inspired (please WOS people-don't throw eggs at me!!) I was also moved by the underlying message of the story. In my profession I often come into contact with people with HIV and the section where Angel is dying in bed accompanied by the strong bass and leather clad demons, sends out a healthy message about the contraction of HIV - hopefully advising the audience to take care. I also found sections very moving, especially with names of people who passed away previously on the LED screen. I also really enjoyed the re-mix, OK it's different from the original and I really hope the cast do a CD soon. Individually they ALL have such talent. I really hope to see this again soon and would recommend it to friends or anyone visiting this site. - dave woolrich
10 Nov 07
It was truly terrible, dodgy acccents, bad casting, bring back the grunge, it fits in with the story and the updated version totally loses the atmosphere. I was there the night of the 3 understudies, Maureen was great, Mimi and Angel were absolutely terrible. Mark with his ridiculous accent was laughable. Roger was fantastic. Why on earth was 'Living in America' remixed - it DIDN'T work. The worst night of theatre I have ever experienced. This production should not be playing in the West End - it is nowhere near up to standard. - Karen
10 Nov 07
I went to see Rent on the night of the 3 understudies and from what I hear it couldn't have made the production worse. I have never seen the original and it started to infuriate me that it was assumed you'd seen it. I had to rely on my friend to explain what was MEANT to be happening to piece together the storyline... otherwise I would have had no idea that Mimi and Roger were together! One minute they're flirting over a candle and the next they're both singing an angst-ridden song about their love and secrets.
Back to the understudies - Mimi was pretty but as I've already said pretty pointless. Maureen did her best but it would have been interesting to see how differently DVO played it. Angel I did like and his relationship with Collins was the one thing that kept me going. On the subject of Collins it did seem a bit odd that he was meant to be a teacher, as someone else has described he looks like a hobo!
The english/american accent saga did confuse me because many people sang in american but then spoke in english with a touch of american thrown in for good measure. All except for Mark who just stuck out like a sore thumb and I found it hard to believe that Maureen would EVER get with him.
On the whole the only thing that truly impressed me about my evening was how eager and willing to answer questions the cast were in the WOS Q&A session afterwards. It was a joy to listen to them and their enthusiasm and I felt sorry for them knowing they're probably going to be unemployed soon. - Clare
09 Nov 07
I joined the WOS group outing to see the new Rent remixed production at the Duke of Yorks this week.
Rent is a classic of its time, capturing the themes of love, life and loss in the shadow of AIDS brilliantly just as La Boheme had done before with tuberculosis.
There is no doubt the original Rent was rough around the edges, perhaps in part because the untimely death of Jonathan Larson prior to opening meant that the show was not refined further, rather it became a glorious tribute to him. So I was intrigued by the idea of this "re-mixing"
I'm afraid what we get is something which does little more than put the songs in a different order, which changes the emphasis of the show towards Maureen and her big number which opens the 2nd act (could that be because of Denise Van Outen's star billing?), there is no real suggestion of love, of a group of friends who care for each other, of anger (with the exception of of Luke Evans' Roger who turned in a fine performance) and the underlying theme of AIDS seems almost lost completely.
What we get is a group of actors performing songs on stage but not playing their characters. We were not helped by having the night of the understudy. The replacement Maureen did ok, those playing Mimi and Angel were weak and why give so many of them an English accent. Yes English people do live in New York but to so many English characters makes no sense and takes it out of that NY world that Jonathan Larson was capturing.
The set looks plush - not at all what Rent is about. Where is the poverty? Mark is penniless but he can afford an expensive camcorder. Mimi is on the streets but wears amazing dresses.
It's not all bad - there are some decent re-workings of some of the songs. I really enjoyed Tango Maureen which really captured what that song is about and was well performed by Oliver Thornton and Francesca Jackson but I'm afraid there is little good about this production.
I've loved rent from the very first time I saw it in London in 1998 but this production does not serve it well.
If you want to see what Rent is really about, take a plane to NY and book a seat at the Nederlander theatre. - Paul Wallis
09 Nov 07
Very bad production, 3 leads of sick & the replacements no matter how hard they try were terrible, having spoken to some of the staff they were saying the the main leads were not much better, the production its self was all over the place, I love Rent & i was looking forward to someone doing something different with, but what a mess they made of it. Dont let Mr Baker near the Theatre Again! Avoid this show!
I don't blame WOS you did you best on a difficult night. - Tim
09 Nov 07
Unbelievably I'd never seen Rent before and had little idea what to expect. I knew it was the plot to La Boheme set in a New York City slum district but that was about it. And I have to report that having seen Rent Remixed I’m none the wiser. If there was a narrative I’m afraid I missed it, partly because the sound balance meant that few of the lyrics could be heard, but also because the design, staging and costumes seemed chosen entirely at random. It was like a Selfridge's window display but with singing. I gather that the ‘remixing’ has extended to the plot details and running order which I’m guessing hasn’t helped!
But you don’t necessarily need a convincing story for a good musical (though God knows it helps) so I'm also assuming this piece is supposed to be about the characters rather than the plot. Bad news here again sadly- it was impossible to tell who these people were. We were given very few clues and confusing ones at that. There was a new babel of different American and London accents, often coming from the mouth of just one character depending on whether they were singing or speaking. But the campest example of this confusion was when a beautiful girl (who was called Mimi apparently) was carried on wearing a sumptuous red cocktail dress and we were told she's just been found living rough. I'm afraid I smirked.
It was like one of those clever-clever modern opera productions which assume you're over-familiar with the material and feel they have to be cutting edge and relevant and completely lose the narrative and characterisation in the process. Alas this is an approach that’s a particular bete-noir of mine!
Like a strong narrative, a strong score isn’t an absolute prerequisite for a great evening of musical theatre either, but the lack of notable melodies doesn’t help Rent either. Given the obstacles they’d been given there was little that the performers themselves could do. There were three understudies on last night and I felt particularly sorry for Denise Van Outen‘s stand-in as she made a big entrance to be greeted by a palpable wall of disappointment. She made a fair fist of it, although why she was called upon to moo like a cow at this point was, like so much else, lost on me. (Is this in the original?) The rest of the cast showed pluck too, but all the considerable talent on display could do little to inject dramatic tension when it wasn’t clear what was going on.
When I'm in NYC for Billy Elliot (now there’s a lesson in how to synthesise song, dance and staging to tell a strong story) I shall make a point of seeing Rent. I want to know how this show can have lasted so long, because what ever magic ingredient it has, Rent Remixed has well and truly lost it. If Director William Baker were to be judged purely on last night’s performance he’d be better employed in window dressing. I gather Selfridge’s have an opening.
- David Standing
08 Nov 07
525600 minutes felt more like the running time than the song lyrics. Easily one of the worst productions I've ever seen. While there were good individual performances, it felt that they were propping up a creaky production. Little wonder that 3 principals were sick the night I went. I felt rather sick after seeing the show. - Andrew
07 Nov 07
Disappointing!
The critics were largely negative, but the reality was much worse. - G
29 Oct 07
What a terrible thing to do to a great show. And even that terrible thing is done very badly indeed. It was difficult for me work out what the Director was trying to achieve - and it's an indication of how this production fails by the fact that the audience were desparately trying to stifle their giggles during Angel's death scene. And what was with those angel wings? And then the white feather fans? And the funeral dirge pace of "What You Own"? And "Out Tonight" sung in jazz fashion on a £9.99 Bontempi Organ from Argos by a Michael Buble wannabe in drag. There's nothing that can be done to save this production. Save your money - don't throw it away like the Production Company have done. Fingers crossed that a proper production of Rent will arrive back in London soon, and erase the memory of this debacle. - Chris
17 Oct 07
Most of the performances were excellent and it really seemed to be a group effort and team work prevailed but i found it galling that William Baker et al have the temerity to remix a show that needs no alteration. It lost a lot of its spark and energy which is what gave it life in the first place. Loved most of the casting although couldn't understand why Mark had such an upperclass english accent. HATED Mimi, what they have done to the character and the person playing her. Why go down the 'she's a popstar so can therfore sing' route because she couldn't. She spoilt the whole thing for me mroe than Bakers remix. - Fingordie
16 Oct 07
it was a wast of time sitting though this load of crap i hope ATG lossis a bigone for putting this rubish on - john
16 Oct 07
Perhaps the worst, most cynical, cheap exploitation of a West End audience yet. It is an utter disgrace and everyone involved should be deeply ashamed. NO STARS - Joesmith
16 Oct 07
Rent "Re-mixed" - hhhmmmm. The title is enough to send any Rent fan running for hills. I must admit ever since I bought the recording in 1998 I have been a fan - so I had to go.
Having seen the broadway production earlier this year I was glad that I had something to compare this production to - cause if this was my first RENT experience I would not have known what the hell was going on. The "re-structure" of the piece is diabolical! I mean before the "1st tune up" we almost have to endure a megamix of every ballad in the show - "Take Me Or Leave Me" has the backtrack from Cyprus' entry from Eurovision - "Out Tonight" is distroyed by an atrocious swing band arrangement - "What you Own" has been turned into a swooning ballad, almost operatic!
Do you really think this is what Jonathan Larson wanted his beautiful, inspirational music to turned into???
The direction is non exsistent and the choreography is pre-school level. But then again, how can we expect to see any more - he has never directed a play/musical, EVER! The lighting looks tacky and unfinished and the costumes are underwehlming. I thought the set was a great concept - but was never fully explored, so much more could have been done with it.
The Performances.... oh, I did feel sorry for them. It is not their fault they are in an aweful production. I thought most of them were great and seemed to use their natural talent to stay a float, as clearly they had no direction.
Luke Evans was a fantasic Roger, his awesome voice and fine acting was always on point (even when his mic kept cutting in and out).
Denise Van Outen...what a God send! She was great and you really believed everything she said. I have been wanting to see her on-stage for a while and it was worth the wait.
Oliver Thornton is completely mis-cast, he is the wrong voice type - but he does have a great look, but is this the right look for Mark?
Siobhan Donaghy. This has got to be one of the worst performances I have ever seen. She cannot act, dance or sing! I thought she was a singer? Okay every now and then you thought, maybe she will get there, but she doesn't - no where near!!!
This may seem harsh, but this has been marketed as a new, updated version of RENT - It misses the mark completely!
It really angered me to see the sign "Thank You Jonathan Larson" at the end of the show. Are you sure this is what he wanted his work to turn into?
- Mr Hewitt
14 Oct 07
1st Preview (3rd Oct): A few good moments and some strong performances but let down by some weak members of the cast and many bland, pointless 'remixes' that have none of the energy or emotion of the original production. This project might have worked better as just a CD of re-worked songs. As an actual musical it lacks any consistent identity and poor direction/adaptation means that the core story/message/emotion has been lost. Last minute attempts are being made to salvage the production by re-remixing it before press night but I'm not sure if they will have time to fix all the problems. - Mansoor
14 Oct 07
A very different take from the original production, but it mostly worked for me. Roger, Joanne and Collins are all excellent. Some of the updated songs don't really work that well and some of the staging loses some of the simplicity and effectiveness of the original. Overall though, I much prefered it to the UK Tour that came into London. At least this is a totally new production of the show - Steve
11 Oct 07
• Please note this review contains many spoilers from the show.
Well, where to start with Rent? Perhaps the date, not the long anticipated October 2nd but the new opening night which would be on the 3rd after cancelling the first preview due to ‘technical reasons’. Well the box office was incredibly helpful and I got a ticket for the second ‘first night’. As myself and a friend join an already very long queue at 6:15 (with the show starting at 7.45) to gain a chance of grabbing a decent seat in the mad free-for-all that they have euphemistically called ‘General Admission’. After as much confusion from the ushers as well as the audience, we were finally seated, but not before being confronted with the whitest set I have ever seen. Pure white! Simplistic yet stylish I was taken back immediately by the design. A white boxed stage with a small podium in the middle at a jaunty angle. A large white metallic walkway from stage left to stage right also imposed over the set, with a set of (again white) steps leading from the stage to the walkway and then another set of steps that went up and disappeared into the wing space. General grievances from the audience stopped as the lights went down. What, no speech from the director? He was around because I saw him, oh well maybe its part of his style, but as the lights go down we are plunged into the world of ‘Rent Remixed’. As the prologue starts which appears to be a collaboration of ‘Will I lose My Dignity’, ‘No Day But Today’ and ‘ Seasons of Love’. Fantastic harmonies from the ensemble sat around AKA the life support meetings and when the song finally reaches its Seasons of Love finale the rest of the cast has also come on stage and belts out the number to riotous applause. However this is the end of our fairytale. Its mostly downhill from here folks. The tune-up begins with Mark (Oliver Thornton) speaking...oops. What an annoying voice, is it real or fake, that he has on. The voice being a cross between an Australian and Eton education school boy which doesn’t let up throughout the musical. So clearly there not doing it in American accents, the first hurdle to accept. The music now not accompanied by many voices booming is heavily and awkwardly synthesised. As the title song Rent begins, were let into one of those daydreams of director William Baker and why he has been working with Kylie for 13 years. A splash, flash and flood of every single colour possible, which would be fine if it wasn’t such a negative songs about the day-to-day struggle these bohemians (albeit with posh accents) have. It is Luke Evans ‘One Song Glory’ which is the highlight of the entire night! Sang with conviction clarity and strength, it was one of the best renditions of the song ever. Then Mimi (Siobhan Donaghy) contributes to the story, I say contributes to the story, to be more accurate the Mimi storyline contributes to the plot but Siobhan unfortunately seemed to offer little to the play. Now Angel my favorite part, the transvestite drummer, effeminate dying from aids. Well sort of... No transvestism in the production, I say that he wore a skirt in one scene but I believe they were over trousers, effeminate then? Well no, the idea of having Angel bald, full head of hair in the programme, doesn’t help with the effeminacy stakes, its made him look like a teenage thug! I felt the way Angel was played (mainly in the first act) was far too manly with a silly overly-camp exterior. Moving on to the next disaster... wtf have they done with Out Tonight? Suddenly this blues/jazz music came on and a very slow jazz rendition of the song was forcefully danced to in some kind of sexualised way. I must say though it is very clever to have the song interject the life support meeting so for a few moments the aids-sufferers become the men in the strip club! But then having a duet between two people who are arguing together, but not towards each other or not in the same place, is just plain confusing. Somehow Roger and Mimi end up meeting at the front of the stage and then sing to each other on the last verse. (ps there is a bootleg copy of this on youtube already, audio only). ‘I’ll Cover You’ was surprisingly delightful with great chemistry between Angel and Collins (Leon Lopez), and the harmonies a pleasure to the ears. The rather useless ‘We’re Okay’ which is followed ‘Tango Maureen’ which doesn’t have the skill of the tango which the original Broadway cast did and there was too much sexuality between Joanne and Mark as opposed to anger for my liking and taking a quick nod or theft from the film and by having the ensemble shadow the dance of Mark and Mimi, but it worked so I’ll let that go. As the interval approaches the ‘headliner’ Denise Van Outen decked out in less clothes than the average stripper, strides onto stage to an applause (good for her) and closes the act with a rather post modern ‘Which way to the stage’! A warm applause from the audience sees the house lights go up and into the usual over-priced ice-creams. Usual audience chatter... more moaning about the annoying seating prices which still irk people two hours after the ‘great wait’ and down go the house lights. As the gorgeous Denise Van Outen struts onto stage, whilst telling the audience to ‘shut the fuck up’! Shock horror, what a start to the second act! Those who are miffed that Seasons of Love does not open the second act anymore should be more than happy with its replacement. True, she is no Idina Menzel but she sure expels her energy and soul into the performance and by the end (after a brief stint of lap dancing with a scared woman on the front row), Outen had the entire audience ‘mooing’ with her in a bizarre and eerily reminiscent mirror of some performance art from the late 80’s. Then onto ‘La Vie Boheme’ which never quite measured up to the original production, it seemed remarkably un-directed, a lack of any real passion and the iconic metal table, gone. Replaced with what looks like a cheap Blue Peter make. A Fast food restaurant counter with a surface of what looked like that awful kit-kat metal wrapping; cheap and tacky comes to mind. Yes, it gets a big clap but it doesn’t have the impact of closing act one with final ‘viva la vie boheme!’ As the production gains speed in the second act, ‘Take Me or Leave Me’ passes without much impact, with no sexual tension or anger between the two characters it seemed fairly bland to me. More attempts at acting from Donaghy, sorry, should I say more emotional scenes from Mimi? However during the song a large hospital bed descends from the flying space as Collins uses the tenderest movements I have ever seen on a stage by putting a frail Angel into the bed. As the rest of the cast rush to Angels bedside there is a poignancy that fills not just the stage but also the auditorium and with it the audience which is both powerful and unnerving. Suddenly a large pulsating bass rocks the theatre as I grimace my teeth in preparation for the production team to destroy such a perfect moment, I am taken aback by the esemble dressed in red, I believe and the stage flooded with red lights and they rouse Angel out of bed and contort him through what can only be described as groping. Suddenly Angel has disappeared from the stage and is seen on the walkway above the stage, with a pair of pure white angel wings, as the pulsating stops, angelic cords ring out as he ascends the second ladder up to the flying space. WOW WOW WOW. So theatrical, so moving it was another of the highlight of my evening. I’ll cover you reprise is performed brilliantly by the cast and gets a great ovation from the audience. Halloween and goodbye love flash bye without a big impact being made, ‘What You Own’ has annoyingly been made into some kind of very slow acoustic duet, which is like pulling teeth without the adrenalin rush at the end. The anger and feeling of betrayal and bereavement that Mark and Roger feel just isn’t able to be shown in this slowed down version. By the time the final comes, I don’t think the audience cares enough about the fate of Mimi and if it wasn’t for the fact of one last taste of Luke Evans voice in ‘Your Eyes’ the ending could have been quite dismal. While I believe it may be the worlds first ever production to realise that the cult song ‘Seasons of Love’ doesn’t actually fit into the piece and quite rightly only tacked it onto the end so as to please its die-hard fans. So here we go, in order they appear in the programme, Denise Van Outen was very good but doesn’t deserve to be headlining the show, yes she is successful and a West End star, but for such a small part as Maureen then it isn’t deserved. Siobham Donaghy is yet more proof that pop stars cannot act, they even struggle with the basic principles of singing, grossly miscast in my opinion. Now Luke Evans, he could and should be headlining the show. Dark, moody and sexy he captures Roger and gives him life. Oliver Thornton’s voice is just so distracting, decent singer but oh that voice! Leon Lopez was very good and comes into his own when in comes to Angels funeral. Jay Webb was a very good non-drag Angel but I would prefer Angel to be a little more feminine. Francesca Jackson, a white Joanne?!? was o.k. but nothing special and Craig Stein’s Benny emanated youth which didn’t really suit the character. The ensemble were excellent with some lovely harmonies. One more note, the answer phone messages are not sung, I heard a rumour on the grapevine, o.k. it was the guy in The Dress Circle, told me that apparently the answer phone messages are recorded by both Kylie and Joan Collins and I’ll be damned if it didn’t sound like them! No one is credited in the programme so I would love to know who it is, but don’t worry I won’t be loosing any sleep over it.
Rent was and is in its original production raw because of its gritty and griminess. It didn’t have large splashes of colour and won its awards for its realistic portrayal. Rent is a Pulitzer Prize winning show because it is pretty close to perfect. No-one would ever suggest on re-writing The Colour Purple or To Kill a Mocking Bird, so why re-write Rent? It seems like a bizarre excuse to fiddle around with something that didn’t need to be fixed. This new generation that it was appealing to seems to be the initial generation that saw the production the first time round. Many people have said in blogs ‘Larson would be spinning in his grave’. Well I would stretch this distasteful stance but I don’t think he would have enjoyed this watered down production any more than I did. However I do believe this production is bizarrely addictive. I already have another seat booked exactly one week after I saw it for the first time, oh well second time lucky...
By Pierre Art.
- Art Pierre
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