Review: RENT, at the Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester

You may be wondering, haven't you written about this before? Well yes, yes I have. 

One of last year's highlights was definitely RENT filmed at Manchester's Hope Mill Theatre. This summer, it has returned; same production, same creative team, same cast (apart from a couple of exceptions). But here's the difference - this time was not over a screen, but live in person and on stage. 

The atmosphere in the Hope Mill, from the minute you walked in, was electric. You could feel the electricity crackle and pop run along the metal pipework, and even through the Manchester brick and stone. 

And that's before the show got started, it only intensified from there once the actors got on stage and did their THANG. 

Because seeing it in-person compared to online, and seeing it now compared to then, you can tell it is a completely different kettle of fish. And you have to wonder something: 

Is Luke Shepard theatreland's Bob the Builder or something? Because this production is the perfect example of when you grab your toolbox, apply it to an already incredible product and make it perfect!

The perfect example of this is Millie O'Connell as Maureen. I must admit, that the first time I saw, I thought she was the weaker link. She was missing something in Maureen for me - but with Sheppard's tinkering, she has gone from "meh" to "WOW". 

Her comic timing was ON POINT  to the point I couldn't stop laughing when she came on stage (when I was supposed to of course, Maureen's not all laughs); she turned up the crazy in Over The Moon compared to before; at one point, she accidentally dropped the phone she was supposed to catch (to much hilarity), and made it work into her lines; and most importantly of all, wasn't all goofy and finally added in the sexual confidence Maureen is supposed to ooze out of every pore. 

She was amazing. 

Millie may have benefitted the most from the time-jump, but everyone returning made the most of it and upped the ante. 

• Did Alex Thomas-Smith look just as fabulous as Angel? Yes
• Did Jocasta Almgill bring the sass as Joanne? Yes
• Did Tom Francis and Maya Quansah-Breed still have the best Rodger x Mimi chemistry you will find outside the 2005 film and 2008 final Broadway performance? Yes
• And most importantly, did Dom Hartley-Harris' Collins bring you to the brink of tears? Absolutely yes! 

We did also have some new players too: Luke Bayer stepping into Mark's Converses with incredible charisma: Michael Ahomka-Lindsay making his professional debut as Benny, as well as the majority of the ensemble being so dynamic in whatever small roles they did.

I don't need to tell you to see RENT because I imagine you have tickets already... unless you haven't in which case, for goodness sake get tickets!! It genuinely remains as the best production of RENT I have ever seen; and it's going to be hard to top it...

The final reason I wanted to write about RENT again, albeit being the same version as before, is that I finally.... FINALLY.... got to meet my theatre tribe! Not of them because it's BIG, but to finally get to see the group of people who have been my Alphabet City Avant-Garde and brought so much light to lockdown, means so much to me! 

I'm looking forward to London when we can meet up again!!