Subjects like death and AIDS are hardly the kind of things that lend themselves to an upbeat atmosphere or a positive outlook, even in the 21st century when HIV can be controlled so much more easily. Nonetheless, Buxton Opera House’s production of Rent offered an evening that left the audience smiling. Whether it was the outstanding vocals, the excellent minimalist stage or the wonderfully atmospheric use of dry ice, this was a compelling and entertaining show. Bold two-level scaffolding was enhanced by vibrant backdrop images of New York which gave gravitas to each scene. The excellent four-piece band played a varied score which ranged from '80s style New Wave sounds to Broadway piano-orientated styles and the generous amount of stage space was used to full advantage by the 17-strong cast.
It was no mean feat to keep the audience constantly entertained for the show’s two hour duration. While based on the Italian opera La Boheme, the story itself comes with a shortage of dialogue that does nothing to help the audience follow the storyline. As a consequence, the characters and situations can appear to lack depth, an unfortunate situation when dealing with some deep social issues. Similarly, the relationships depicted can seem unaccountably deep when arising from apparently minimal foundations. If that is a flaw in the original script, it was no reflection on the performance itself, which was never less than excellent. Particularly outstanding performances were provided by Liv Riseley as Mimi, Christopher Blackshaw as Tom Collins and Tashion Taylor as Angel. Indeed, despite the brevity of dialogue a snapshot still emerged of the age; that time between the discovery of AIDS and the emergence of effective treatments. With enough modern day issues such as knife crime, homelessness, growing political extremism and religious intolerance also rising, Rent is no way a dated show, now that AIDS no longer holds the same level of fear. This is first and foremost a show by young people for young people.
Rent has an added poignancy because the writer Jonathan Larson, died suddenly of an aortic dissection, believed to have been caused by undiagnosed Marfan syndrome, the night before the Off-Broadway premiere, having never seen one complete performance of the show. Could life have imitated art much more powerfully? This was certainly a very original piece and one can only speculate what other works may have been created had he lived longer. The themes explored in Rent are not interspersed with meaningless, lengthy dance routines, as in ‘West Side Story’ nor is there one central romance denigrating away from the real background issues, notably in ‘Titanic’ amongst so many others. This was a show with something to say and it never takes a break from saying it.
When one of the songs numbers the minutes in a year, it captures well the evanescence of life in such circumstances. For this reason, it may be unfortunate to pick out a continuity error. But one backdrop to New York showed the new Freedom Tower, built in place of the iconic World Trade Centre skyscrapers destroyed on 9/11. Given that this was a play set in the 1990s, it was a notable mistake. That aside, this was an enjoyable event, one high on emotion and quality for all the scant details of the storyline. Considering the cast had performed Oliver earlier that same day, their versatility should be applauded. Apparently, their next production is going to be an Andrew Lloyd Webber show which we can await with eager anticipation.
Reviewers - John Waterhouse and Charles Britten
on - 8/6/19
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