First look: Rent at the Hope Mill Theatre

First look images have been released for Hope Mill Theatre's ongoing revival of Rent.

The new revival of the cult classic is set to close after its opening night tonight, but will be streamed online later this month for remote audiences.

Appearing in the show are Jocasta Almgill (& Juliet) as Joanne, Blake Patrick Anderson (Be More Chill) as Mark, Tom Francis (Arts Ed 2020 graduate) as Roger, Ahmed Hamad (The Boy in the Dress) as Benny, Dom Hartley-Harris (Hamilton) as Collins, Millie O'Connell (SIX) as Maureen, Maiya Quansah-Breed (SIX) as Mimi and Alex Thomas-Smith (Dear Evan Hansen) as Angel.

Completing the cast are Kayla Carter (2020 Royal Academy of Music Masters graduate), Allie Daniel (Everybody's Talking About Jamie film), Isaac Hesketh (The Book of Mormon) and Bethany Terry (West Side Story).

The piece is directed by Luke Sheppard (& Juliet) with choreography by Tom Jackson Greaves, with musical direction by Katy Richardson, set and costume design by David Woodhead, LX design by Howard Hudson, projection design by George Reeve, sound design by Paul Gatehouse and casting by Pearson Casting. Artwork is by Feast Creative and video content by The Umbrella Rooms.

The Umbrella Rooms will be capturing the show, which will then be available for a limited number of audience members who purchase tickets for allocated dates.

The show will be presented online on 27, 28 and 29 November, 4, 5 and 6, 11, 12 and 13, 18, 19 and 20 December, with performances beginning at 7.30pm BST.

Based on Puccini's La Bohème, Rent follows a group of impoverished young artists who live in New York under the shadow of HIV/AIDs. After premiering in 1996, the show first ran in the UK in 1998, with a film released in 2005. It has music, lyrics, and book by Jonathan Larson, with numbers including "La Vie Boheme", "Without You" and "Seasons of Love".

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