20th Anniversary production of RENT at St James

Dom O'Hanlon
Dom O'Hanlon

It has been announced that a 20th anniversary production of RENT will run at the St James Theatre, a fringe venue in Victoria, for the Christmas 2016 season from 8 December to 28 January 2016, with an official opening on 13 December.

The production is a collaboration between Robert Mackintosh and Idili Theatricals Limited, in association with Theatr Clwyd and Wales Millennium Centre, and will open at the Theatr Clwyd for a limited season from 21 October to 12 November 2016 before a three week tour and an extended London stay.

Inspired by Puccini's opera 'La Bohème', RENT features book, music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson. The musical won four Tony Awards, six Drama Desk Awards and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1996. It premiered in London's West End in 1998 at the Shaftesbury Theatre and was adapted into a film in 2005.

The cast for this new production will include Ross Hunter (Roger Davis), Billy Cullum (Mark Cohen), Ryan O'Gorman (Tom Collins), Shanay Holmes (Joanne Jefferson), Layton Williams (Angel Schunard), Philippa Stefani (Mimi Marquez) and Lucie Jones (Maureen Johnson), as well as an ensemble that includes Kevin Yates, Jordan Laviniere, Christina Modestou, Bobbie Little, Jenny O'Leary and Katie Bradley.

RENT follows a group of bohemian artists who struggle to maintain their friendships and their non-conformist ideals in New York's East Village. Facing their problems head on, they make personal self-discoveries and find what really matters most in life. The score features songs such as "Seasons of Love", "Take Me or Leave Me", "One Song Glory", and "La Vie Bohème".

Tickets for the production go on general sale on 8 June 2016.

Originally published on

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