Calling all attendees of maureen’s one night engagement, welcome to the LIFE cafe. The review of RENT, performed at the Tyne Theatre and Opera house will begin shortly. This review is a couple of months late, unfortuntately.
The cymbals won’t delay, but this review has, well anyway. It may have been a while, but I think it’s time say something about this almost sold out show. Tyne Theatre Productions presented RENT, a classic musical by Jonathan Larson. Featuring hit songs like Take me or Leave me, La Vie Boheme and Seasons of Love, this musical is one most will know of.
This performance was put on by a local performance company. Performing in a rather impressive theatre, this show had some amazing aesthetics, some great acting and an impressive ensemble. Whilst they tried their hardest, with one member off due to covid, you could tell there was a crack.
One actor stepped in last minute and did really well with the performance, and taking the role on with little time to prepare, but you could tell it was a last minute fill. With pauses, pacing issues, notes that just seemed impossible for the actor and some harmonies that didnt suit the two voices, the performance of Joanne was a sore spot in the musical. However I want to give the actor some credit because she did an amazing job within the time frame she had to pick up the role and I could not have managed to remember those lines in a day.
The rest of the cast were great, with amazing ensemble moments and some great movement scenes. The stage didn’t feel too big, thought the left platform did seem to be empty for a long time. The majority of the action happening to the right wasn’t a major issue, and the lighting design was cleverly done to carve away those sections of the stage that they didnt want you to see.
While there weren’t any stand out moments to me, the whole show was a great evening of entertainment and was enjoyable. I think the musical has such a huge reputation and has such a following, that any production would struggle to meet those expectations. Tyne Theatre Productions did a great job at putting on a performance that everyone could enjoy and I think they did a great job with such a well known musical.
Entertainment:
This show had me engaged for the most part. There were only 2 moments where I dropped off and they happened to be when the pacing issues occurred. And while this was probably just because of the casting change and things being completely new, it did impact on the experience for me. The other audience members seemed to be engaged throughout and it was lovely to see a theatre full. There was enough in the show to give you something to watch and to provide you with some entertainment but I think there may have been a different vibe had it all gone to plan. I give the show four stars out of five.
Value for money
The show was kind of pricey, but I understand that the show hasn’t got the background of funding that huge touring shows has. As a local theatre company, I think they did a great job at putting on a show that had people engaged. While the prices seemed steep, I think they did a good job at making the tickets somewhat obtainable. I do think they could have given more for the amount we paid, at almost £30 each, the tickets seemed to promise a big show and everything seemed really stripped back and a bit basic. I am going to give the show 3 stars, but I think if there were more visuals, more advanced effects and such, the show would have gotten a higher rating.
Accessibility
This show is VERY loud. As a rock musical, there is no surprise here, but it does make it inaccessible. Plus there were quite a few light triggers and sudden sound triggers that weren’t advertised and it made me jump quite a bit. I think theatre still has a way to go before it becomes accessible, and I think it starts with advertising potential jumpy moments / loud volume.
Overall
I had a good night at the theatre, it was entertaining and it had those songs we all love. However, it does seem a little bit pricey for what you get and it all seemed a little basic too. I think with more funding and had covid not existed, the show would have been that bit better than means it would have gotten a higher rating. I give the show three stars overall, a good show, a bit pricey and a bit basic but a well known musical performed locally.
Have your say!
Have you seen RENT? What did you think? Are you going out tonight, or are you staying in and ignoring the passing of bohemia? Let me know in the comments and let’s get a discussion going.
As always, please be respectful of each other’s opinions and be kind to each other. I completely respect and value everyone that worked on this show. We need to remember that these are people with feelings. Let’s treat them with respect. Bullying will not be tolerated and harmful language will be removed.
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