Controversial opera is explosive end to year

Rock opera Rent has acquired a cult status that has brought it to the level of The Rocky Horror Show and Hair, and now this story of love and tragedy is about to close the Leamington venue’s 2011 run.

With music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson, this updated version of Puccini’s La Boheme tells the story of impoverished artists and musicians struggling to survive on New York’s Lower East Side under the shadow of HIV/AIDS rather than the ‘consumption’ of the original opera.

Rent was first seen in a limited three-week production in 1994 at New York Theatre Workshop, the same theatre that was its initial home following its official opening in January 1996 – coincidentally debuting exactly 100 years after Puccini’s opera.

The production was a hit, winning a Pulitzer Prize and moving to Broadway’s Nederlander Theatre on 29 April 1996.

On Broadway, Rent gained even more critical acclaim, winning a Tony Award for Best Musical among other prizes. It eventually closed in September 2008, after 5,124 performances, making it one of the longest-running Broadway shows at that time.

This Loft production, directed by Tim Willis, with musical direction by Matt Flint and choreography by Robin Stokoe, features a large company of actor and singers who will be recognised by regulars in the audiences of musical theatre productions in the area.

Tim Willis said: “Rent is a story of love, tragedy, hope and despair, but most importantly of all, celebration!

It is a show that continues to court controversy — and this production is no exception.”

The play contains strong language, violence, substance misuse, adult themes and scenes of a sexual nature that some people may find disturbing.

Performances take place from Wednesday until Saturday December 17 at 7.45pm each evening (except Sundays). For tickets, call 0844 493 4938 or go online. www.loft-theatre.co.uk