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CYGNET PLAYERS “’RENT” 23 September 2010 Putney Arts Theatre Stephen Macvicar Thank you very much for inviting me to Cygnet Players production of Jonathan Larson’s excellent contemporary musical ‘Rent’ recently at Putney Arts Theatre. Synopsis Rent is loosely based on the Italian composer Giacomo Puccini's La bohème, an opera that focuses on the experiences of bohemian artists living in Paris at the end of the nineteenth century. Larson places his play in New York City a century later than Puccini's work. It opens on Christmas Eve and chronicles the characters' lives over the course of one year. The fast-paced production moves through a collection of vignettes that are united by a rent strike against the landlord of the run-down tenement where some of the characters live. During the course of the play, the characters protest the landlord's plans to evict them and face other obstacles that are more difficult to fight, including drug addiction, AIDS, and troubled relationships. The characters do not overcome all their problems, but those that do overcome provide themselves with a sustaining sense of community and the will to endure. I remember when I first saw ‘Rent’ at the Shaftesbury Theatre in London and after about twenty minutes I wondered exactly what I had come to see. Subjects such as terminal illness, broken relationships, homelessness and poverty were on the menu but after my early reservations (as I had with Les Miserables), I grew over time to love this superb piece of musical theatre. Although I know the many talents that Cygnet Players have and have access to, I was still slightly concerned about how they would be able to tackle this monster of a show. Probably more vocally than production wise because it is a real challenge. I have to say I was very impressed. This Paul Taylor-Mills production was in your face from minute one and retained energy and attack throughout. This energy and passion is something I don’t see enough in other amateur productions and I was delighted to witness it. In his programme notes, Paul refers to drive and commitment from his company and this was evident in spades. It is the type of show that gets in your blood and it can’t be produced half-heartedly. Increasingly this type of show is the genre that modern performers are looking to undertake and hopefully your audiences will become more contemporary along with you. From what I saw, probably something to do with the general age of the cast, the audience was largely youthful and hugely enthusiastic. Putney Arts Theatre was transformed to the bohemia of lower east side New York. A concoction of stairs, walkways and balconies was a perfect backdrop for the tenements and offered other playing areas for scenes set elsewhere. Chairs, tables and various other pieces of furniture and props were brought on an off to depict the apartments, street scenes and the café etc. On matters of a technical nature, the Lighting plot was impressive with a vast array of colours and moods to suit each scene. The Sound was generally fine but I did struggle to understand the words that were coming from the performer’s mouths. I’m lucky that I know the score pretty well but I wasn’t sure whether the performers weren’t projecting properly (behind US accents) or whether the sound balance with the band was not quick right. Stage Management and the accompanying crew were very professional. Costumes were good too but I did miss not seeing the proper Tom Collins coat. The talented band under Musical Director Nick Shaikh was loud but this is a show that demands the music to be loud. The ensemble singing was excellent with ‘Seasons of Love’, ‘La Vie Boheme’ and the title song ‘Rent’ amongst the favourites. Solo singing too was great and I shall mention the main principals later on but I just thought that I would pay tribute to the support members of the cast who all had their own individual lines and characters and performed them to a high standard – especially the young lady with her vocal gymnastics during ‘Seasons of Love’. I enjoyed the choreography from Jodie-Lee Wilde which had the necessary contemporary essence. As I mentioned earlier the energy and attack came from the production numbers and whilst these were suitably lively and upbeat when it was required to be there was also some subtle light and shade at more tender moments. Congratulations to the Production Team and the society in general for creating a fabulous production. Onwards and upwards for this forward thinking and very well run society as the future looks very bright indeed. Some familiar faces in the cast were augmented by some less familiar to me and all contributed to the overall standard. Some of the parts are fairly small so I have only written a few notes on the main principals who featured significantly, in programme order; Roger – Philip Doyle – Roger is a great part for Philip giving him the opportunity to tackle with his excellent voice some big rock ballads none better then ‘Glory’. His tortured soul was there for all to see but there were some lighter moments of quality especially during ‘Light My Candle’. Benny – Jaco Botha – For me the success of capturing Benny is answering the question – do I want to punch this guy in the face? And whilst I’m sure Jaco is a lovely bloke I did actually want to give him a slap. Mark – Matthew Schouten – I enjoyed Matt’s performance. I thought he captured the awkward and self-deprecating nature of his character expertly and possesses a voice I will look forward to hearing again Tom Collins – James Armstrong – I could easily see that James has stage presence and talent but Tom Collins is a big part to fill and from purely a personal prospective, I didn’t think James quite got there Angel – Arron Johnson – This is a dream role for many people but not everyone. Arron fitted this character like a glove and excelled in his rendition of ‘Today for You’ Joanne – Amy Skillman – Good, strong vocals were in evidence from Amy and the scenes with Maureen where the fur flied were memorable – particularly ‘Take Me or Leave Me’ Maureen – Kate Chesworth – Kate was electric as the feisty and domineering Maureen. ‘Over the Moon’ certainly captured the audiences attention. Mimi – Natalie Douglas – There were some very strong performances in this show but none better that Natalie who was absolutely fantastic as the hugely vulnerable but sometimes diva, Mimi. Vocally Natalie was top notch and her rendition of ‘Out Tonight’ in that all in one outfit was something else The souvenir programme was excellent and contained lots of society information as well as quality photos and biogs of the cast. Once again thank you for inviting me to Putney Arts Theatre and best wishes for your 2011 productions. I look forward to seeing you again in the not too distant future. Kindest Regards Stephen Macvicar NODA Rep London Area 3 [email protected]