Curve Theatre Leicester – Saturday 9 March 2024
By Amarjeet Singh
Scenes from RENT – a staged performance is part of Curve’s New Work Festival, a celebration of talented artists and creativity in the Midlands. Running in Curve’s Studio Theatre the production is an intimate and innovative exploration of Jonathan Larson’s acclaimed rock opera through the lens of the isolation and prejudice faced by deaf and hearing communities during the 1980s AIDS crisis. The company includes both deaf and hearing actors, who present scenes from the musical in British Sign Language (BSL) and English.
The idea for the project was born from the creative mind of Curve’s Regional Theatre Young Director, Lilac Yosiphon. It’s a culmination of her 18-month residency, and is an absolute triumph. Collaborating with musical direction from Ben Garnett, Choreography and movement by Stacey McCarthy, and Deepa Shastri on board as the BSL Consultant and Creative Associate. Narrative support is provided by Creative Captions to make it a fully inclusive performance. Scenes from RENT – a staged performance brought together a selection of key scenes and hit songs from the show, including ‘Seasons of Love’ and ‘La Vie Boheme’.
This is a stunning and moving piece of theatre. Innovative, immersive, interactive, and deeply moving. The choreography was intricate and clever. The integration of BSL with dance was mind-blowing. Deepa Shastri and Stacey McCarthy skills were humbling. Having a signed performance where there was not a static signer on the side of the stage but rather a mirroring player moving alongside and signing with the singing performer was incredible. Having non singing performers performing whilst the singers were off stage showed that anyone with talent can entertain, and boy did these guys do just that. Although this was a staged performance, the company had the audience clapping/waving, laughing, whooping and crying, It was incredible and truly showed what the future of inclusive and diverse theatre can and should be. Each and every performer gave it their everything, and their joy shone through the music, the movement and the melodies. This is a performance that will happily live Rent free in my head and I urge you to catch it whilst you can.
