Hope Mill Theatre’s acclaimed RENT is BACK on stage!
Announcing six new members of cast as rehearsals start
Hope Mill Theatre’s smash-hit, critically acclaimed production of the classic rock musical RENT is to return with LIVE performances at the Manchester venue from August 6 to September 19, 2021.
As rehearsals start, we reveal six new members of cast:
Luke Bayer (Mark) was alternate Jamie New in ‘Everybody’s Talking About Jamie’ in the West End and starred as Robbie in ‘Soho Cinders’ at Charing Cross Theatre.
Michael Ahomka-Lindsay (Benny) is making his professional stage debut after graduating from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, where he was a recipient of the Andrew Lloyd Webber Scholarship.
Iona Fraser played Deloris in ‘Sister Act the Musical’ at Shanklin Theatre.
Alison Driver, Joe Foster, Karl Lankester are recent graduates making their professional stage debuts.
They join Tom Francis (Roger), Jocasta Almgill (Joanne), Dom Hartley-Harris (Collins), Millie O’Connell (Maureen), Maiya Quansah-Breed (MImi), Alex Thomas-Smith (Angel) and Isaac Hesketh who are returning to the production
RENT, directed by Luke Sheppard (‘& Juliet’), is a rock musical with music, lyrics, and book by Jonathan Larson, loosely based on Puccini’s opera ‘La Bohème’. It tells the story of a group of impoverished young artists living, loving and working in Manhattan’s East Village, under the shadow of HIV/AIDS.
RENT premiered Off Broadway in 1996 before moving to Broadway later the same year. The show has been staged all over the world, including in the West End in 1998 and in 2005 was released as a motion picture. It features hit songs such as ‘Rent’, ‘Without You’, ‘La Vie La Bohème’ and the iconic ‘Seasons of Love’.
William Whelton, Executive Director of Hope Mill Theatre, said: “It was so heart-breaking to have to close our 2020 production of RENT after only five shows, due to entering another lockdown. We were so thrilled that we managed to capture the show and share it with audiences online. The reaction to the show both critically and with audiences alike was truly overwhelming. However, we built this show to be experienced live and there is still a lot of unfinished business with this special show. It is with much excitement that we are bringing back ‘Rent’ to Hope Mill Theatre for another run, and once again share this truly electric, heart-warming and unique version in person with our audiences.”
Creative Team:
Directed by Luke Sheppard
Choreographer: Tom Jackson Greaves
Musical Supervisor: Katy Richardson
Set & Costume Designer: David Woodhead
Lighting Designer: Howard Hudson
Sound Designer: Paul Gatehouse
Projection Designer: George Reeve
Musical Director: Chris Poon
Assistant Director: Priya Patel Appleby
Casting: Pearson Casting
LISTINGS INFORMATION
RENT
Hope Mill Theatre
Hope Mill
113 Pollard Street
Manchester M4 7JA
6 August – 19 September, 2021
Previews
6 & 7 August, 2021
Tickets
From £25
Running time: 2.5 hours
Interval: Yes, 15 minutes
Age Restriction: 13+
Warnings:
Drug-use, strong language &
themes of adult content.
Parental guidance required for
children under 15.
Presented by arrangement with Music Theatre International (Europe) Limited
RENT was originally produced in New York by New York Theatre Workshop and on Broadway by Jeffrey Seller, Kevin McCollum, Allan S. Gordon and New York Theatre Workshop.