Living with Living with Living with Not Dying from Disease

All the work I have been doing for this company, and instantly, most of my paycheque is spent in a day. And I don't have much to show for it. But I don't mind because I had a very fun day.

My last night in New York last Summer was spent at the Nederlander theatre, watching Rent. Since then, I have been quite a fan of it, and have heard/seen it in most of its forms. Every so often, my mother emails me about theatre tickets I can get for free for new shows that haven't had their critical reception yet. One such show is Rent (Remixed), showing in the Duke of York's Theatre. And I once again was given two free tickets to go and see it.

Through Natasha's probably interminable kindness, Kiana came with me, and we went to see a new take on an old favourite.

Let me say off the bat that while it was enjoyable, I didn't think that much of the film. There wasn't much wrong with it, it just didn't transfer to the big screen from the small stage. It did, nonetheless, bring Rent to a world that hasn't been to New York, and missed it while it was in their town (I know it closed after a short run in London, and I was too young to even want to go). This adaptation, however, took a lot of what I took for granted a moved it around.

Several of the characters are from minorities, and through the years onstage their ethnicity was preserved, and all (bar Sarah Silverman) were transferred to the productions I was aware of. Characters that we were so cemented with black, Oriental or Hispanic actors now became pale cockney redheads or cocky American blondes. Mimi Marquez shouldn't conjure images of someone who looks like Alysson Hannigan. British accents were dotted around, despite still being set in New York. But despite the nationality of some of the cast, there were some very good American accents, faithful to what I've known for the past year.

The set was always rough, black brick, steel pipes and rusty furnaces. In this version, the set is extremely Tate Modern. Almost minimalist, and filled with far more implication. It might have been the highlight; dotted with strange things being lowered from above, and well placed projections making powerful suggestions. The characters in costume looked so out of place with the sterile, monochrome environment, it was very effective.

The songs were different. Not just in order (which threw both of the seasoned Rent fans), but reworked. Oddly, for music that we're so used to hearing, the changed and remixed music wasn't a desecration. They were actually very good. Today 4 U had its backing track totally redone, completely to its credit, one of the surprising improvements. Out Tonight takes you by surprise with a total genre change, and one of the sexiest performances I've seen in a long time (although whether the change suits Mimi's character is up to debate). Happy New Year, one of my favourites, was changed very nicely, and gives the second half a very fresh feel. Take Me or Leave Me, as Kiana noted afterwards, was much more of a pop song, which worked well, but perhaps not as well as the original. It was extremely catchy though. My favourite, I'll Cover You was, luckily largely untouched. And its reprise was perhaps more effective in its sparsity. Watching Contact was probably the most surreal experience I've had in a while. It's subtext wasn't anywhere near as blatant as in the New York production, but it worked well.

However, some additions didn't work anywhere near as well. Maureen's MCing was effective, but somewhat cheesy (despite my appreciation for what Denise van Outen did with the character). As was Angel's ascension. Mark's character seemed too over the top for the usually deadpan delivery I have known. It was somewhat overacted. The end also seems anticlimactic, and while better than the overly Hollywood approach in the film, lacked the powerful emotion of the New York production. Finally, due to some staging issues and my occasional inability to hear the actors, I wondered if people who hadn't seen another production before would be able to follow it.

Despite these criticisms, the acting was of a high calibre and I found myself mouthing along to every word. I recommend it to fans and newbies alike. It's certainly a different vision to what Jonathan Larson saw, but it was enjoyed by two major fans, and I hope it has a decent run this time.