Hope Mill Theatre releases the first look rehearsal images of RENT which starts performances on Friday 30 October 2020.
Hope Mill Theatre stages this hotly-anticipated revival of the classic rock musical RENT which will run to socially distanced audiences this autumn – with the 12-strong cast forming a ‘bubble’ for the duration of the show’s run in Manchester.
The production will be filmed and broadcast online to a strictly limited number of viewers. Captured during a live performance by Umbrella Rooms, the production will then be made available over four weekends during the production’s run, starting from the final two weeks.
RENT is a rock musical with music, lyrics, and book by Jonathan Larson and is 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.
Casting includes Jocasta Almgill (& Juliet, Dreamgirls – West End) as Joanne; Blake Patrick Anderson (Be More Chill – The Other Palace, Closer to Heaven – Off West End/Above the Stag) as Mark; Tom Francis (Arts Ed 2020 graduate) will mark his professional debut as Roger; Ahmed Hamad (The Boy in the Dress – RSC, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat – West End as Benny; Dom Hartley-Harris (George Washington in Hamilton – West End, Bat Out of Hell – Manchester & West End) as Collins; Millie O’Connell (Olivier nominated as Anne Boleyn in SIX The Musical – West End & UK Tour, 42nd Street – West End) as Maureen; Maiya Quansah-Breed (Olivier nominated as Catherine Parr in SIX The Musical – West End & UK Tour) as Mimi; Alex Thomas-Smith (Dear Evan Hansen – West End, Bat Out of Hell – West End) as Angel.
The rest of the cast features Allie Daniel (Everybody’s Talking About Jamie – Film), Isaac Hesketh (Book of Mormon – UK Tour) and Bethany Terry (West Side Story – Royal Exchange Theatre Manchester, Bat Out of Hell – West End).
RENT is directed by Luke Sheppard, Choreographer Tom Jackson Greaves, Musical Supervisor Katy Richardson, Musical Director Chris Poon, Set & Costume Designer David Woodhead, LX Designer Howard Hudson, Sound Designer Paul Gatehouse, Projection Designer George Reeve, Assistant Director Priya Appleby, Costume Supervisor Ester Mangas, Production Photographer Dujonna Gift-Simms, Make Up and Wigs Designer Jackie Saundercock, and Casting by Pearson Casting.
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. Musical Arrangements by Steve Skinner, Music Supervision and Additional Arrangements by Tim Weil, Original Concept/Additional Lyrics Billy Aronson and Dramaturg Lynn Thomson.
Friday 30 October – Sunday 6 December 2020 Press Night: Wednesday 4 November 2020 Times: 7.30pm, matinees Saturday and Sunday
Hope Mill Theatre, 113 Pollard Street, Manchester, M4 7JA
Online tickets will be available over the following weekends: 27th, 28th & 29th November
4th, 5th & 6th December
11th, 12th & 13th December
18th, 19th & 20th December
Online performances start at 7.30pm
Tickets: In venue performance SOLD OUT
Online single ticket £25, group ticket (2 or more viewing) £40 and the venue has removed booking fees: If booked within the first 24 hours of on sale £20 for single tickets and £35 for a group ticket.
Box Office: 0161 275 9141 (Monday – Friday 12pm-5pm), www.hopemilltheatre.co.uk
Music, lyrics, and book by Jonathan Larson Directed by Luke Sheppard
Choreographer Tom Jackson Greaves Musical Supervisor Katy Richardson Musical Director Chris Poon
Set & Costume Designer David Woodhead LX Designer Howard Hudson
Sound Designer Paul Gatehouse Projection Designer George Reeve Assistant Director Priya Appleby
Costume Supervisor Ester Mangas,
Production Photographer Dujonna Gift-Simms Make Up and Wigs Designer Jackie Saundercock Casting by Pearson Casting.
Cast: Jocasta Almgill, Blake Patrick Anderson, Kayla Carter, Allie Daniel, Tom Francis, Ahmed Hamad, Dom Hartley-Harris, Isaac Hesketh, Millie O’Connell, Maiya Quansah-Breed, Bethany Terry and Alex Thomas-Smith.
