Rent

Synopsis

A musical based on La boheme. The musical updates the plot to modern day New York where a community of East Village dwellers battle to fulfil their aspirations against the tide of reality. The show opened off Broadway at the New York Theatre Workshop in February 1996 for a two month run before transferring to the Nederlander. 35 year old Jonathan Larson never lived to see the success of the musical, dying of an aortic aneurysm shortly after the final dress rehearsal. Winner of four 1996 Tony Awards, (including Best Musical), the film rights were snapped up by Robert de Niro and Miramax.

Our Review:

Leone Richmond - 22 October 2012

This amateur production of Rent at the Cockpit theatre, directed by Timothy O'Hara and Sarah Henley begins as soon as the audience enters the performance space. A smoky black box comprised of metal bars, rostra blocks and chaotically strewn crates, Naomi Hodgson’s set is aptly illusive of the type of downtown performance space being satirized in “Over the Moon”. Sounds of New York traffic and a crying baby buzz eerily through the room. The first cast member we see on the multileveled thrust stage is a shivering homeless man on the ground amongst the band. The rest of the cast slowly accumulate one by one before the show officially begins.

The young, unpaid cast has a sense of urgency as they adopt the characters loosely inspired by Puccini’s La Boheme. As they swarm around the set there is always something to look at, although the stage occasionally becomes slightly too busy.

Tori Allen-Martin’s Mimi looks too heal...

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Latest User Review

Jemima - 24 October 2012:

I actually agree with the reviewer in this case. The word amateur, in my opinion, should not be used because of whether the actors are being paid, or the venue, but because the production gave an amateur impression. In my opinion this can be attributed to the fact that some of the songs could not be heard due to the too-loud band, or that some of the chorus actors were enthusiastic to the point of over-acting. Regardless of what training each cast member has had, it is what is presented on stage that matters and an amateur vibe was, I agree, projected. Overall the play was enjoyable and powerful, but I think in some cases, i.e. the volume of the band and acting of the chorus, less is more and could be fine tuned by the production team....

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