First of all, happy Fringe ’23 everyone! Edinburgh is jammed packed with new, weird and wonderful performances. However, there’s nothing quite like finding your favourite show with a Fringe Festival makeover this August
Jonathan Larson’s RENT is a staple in modern musical history and a personal favourite of mine. It redefined the Rock Opera genre, won several awards and has high school theatre groups singing/ screeching “five hundred twenty-five thousand, six hundred minutes” to this day. RENT tells the story of a group of friends struggling to survive in ‘90s New York against the backdrop of the AIDS pandemic. Fighting battles of love and loss, the group’s bohemian ideals are challenged as they search for happiness and fulfilment in the wider world.
Bare Productions are an acclaimed Edinburgh-based production company that took on the hefty task of performing RENT at this year’s Fringe. Every time I see RENT, I am filled with the same teenage angst and emotion I had when I first saw it at 15. Rent is a time capsule for all of us into not just the 90s but our own bohemian adolescence – or at least what we thought was bohemian. Bare Productions ticked all my angsty boxes. The overall atmosphere of the production felt stripped back and grungy, which is quintessential RENT. There were no swings and roundabouts, just brilliant acting and live music. Bare Productions have solidified themselves as a triple threat and home to some of Edinburgh’s massive talents.
Directing such a classic with a cult following is daunting. Dominic Lewis did a fantastic job of sticking to the original material whilst experimenting with some other concepts. The use of a VHS player was beautiful as it captured a different side to the characters and was a lovely nod to 90’s tech and culture. I would have loved to see more of this and a little more experimentation in general just to freshen RENT up. A little sprinkle of modernity or switching up some concepts would have made the production really stand out from others. However, they’re not reinventing the wheel. RENT is a well-loved play, so with Dominic’s direction and the wonderful cast, they’ve got a festival hit on their hands.
The cast was sensational! Their rapport was absolutely electric. The relationship between Thomas Collins (Andrew Gardiner) and Angel (Rory McKeon) was breathtaking. Bare Productions are known for their vocal skills, but they exceeded my expectations. The whole ensemble is incredibly talented vocally and their voices blended together perfectly. Two standouts for me were Maureen played by Nicola Alexander and Joanne played by Felicity Halfpenny. They were another couple who had incredible chemistry and embodied their characters entirely.
A live band is always a green flag for me. Musicals with a live band feel so authentic. I wish we could have seen a little more of them, perhaps they could have used the space a little more.
With RENT, you know what you’re going to get. An angsty, heartwarming tale about love and friendship, filled with classic songs that still hit us almost 30 years on. Bare Productions rendition of the modern classic honours the original without feeling too “samey”. The cast can experiment a little without straying too far from the production we all know. I would have loved to see them explore some more new ideas but if you’re looking for a great rendition of RENT, then you won’t be disappointed.
RENT by Bare Productions is running at Paradise in Augustines- The Sanctuary from 5th-12th of August. Grab your tickets here https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/rent
Theatre Scotland 
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