The reviews are in for Rent, Luke Sheppard’s 30th anniversary revival of Jonathan Larson’s rock musical, which opened on 8 October at the Tom Stoppard Theatre, the renamed Duke of York’s. Larson’s update of La bohème follows a year among young artists in New York’s East Village under the shadow of Aids, and Sheppard brings it in from his Hope Mill Theatre staging with an in-the-round set and part of the audience seated on stage. The notices are strong but not unanimous: the five-star critics call it the definitive production, while Time Out and the Guardian admire the score more than the storytelling. Nearly everyone agrees on the company, and on Billy Nevers and Jeevan Braich in particular.
The verdict: twenty-four reviews in so far: four five-star notices, ten four-star and four three-star, plus six that carry no published rating or keep it behind a paywall. Among the eighteen that score, the average is 4.0 out of 5. Almost every critic singles out Billy Nevers as Collins and Jeevan Braich as Angel; where they part company is over Gaten Matarazzo’s Mark, which most find engaging and a few find swallowed by the ensemble, and over a running time that several think could lose a song or two.
What are critics saying about Rent?
The Arts Desk
“Jonathan Larson's New York-centred show finds a loving London home”
Reviewer: Matt Wolf
“…I can report that this production stands alongside it, and, in some areas, surpasses it.”
The yardstick here is Michael Greif’s Broadway original, which Wolf saw several times. The review credits Sheppard with rebuilding the show from the ground up and matching Larson’s compassion, and treats the material’s rough edges as part of its character rather than something the revival has to hide.
LondonTheatre.co.uk
“The legendary musical packs a punch in this propulsive revival”
Reviewer: Marianka Swain
“RENT is a soul-stirring act of creation, and so too is this exhilarating revival.”
Swain treats the evening as an ensemble achievement rather than a star vehicle: Matarazzo is a genial guide, but the biggest praise goes to Billy Nevers and Jeevan Braich. The show is conceded to be less than subtle, Benny above all, and its passion is judged more than enough to cover the gap.
All That Dazzles
Reviewer: Daz Gale
“I would quite honestly give it more than five stars if I could…”
Gale is the most openly delighted critic in the field. The quieter numbers, Will I? and Without You, are picked out as the clearest proof of the staging’s strength, and the show is named a serious contender for musical of the year.
West End Best Friend
Reviewer: James Edge
“…may well be the definitive production of RENT, a complete triumph from beginning to end…”
Edge works through the company one by one and finds very little to fault, saving the loudest praise for Nevers’s reprise of I’ll Cover You. The one reservation concerns Benny, who could show more turmoil, and the verdict is that the Manchester staging has grown, not shrunk, on its way into the West End.
The Standard
“A glorious 30th anniversary staging of the cult Broadway hit”
Reviewer: Nick Curtis
“His hurtling, 30th anniversary staging of Rent is glorious, with an ensemble of astonishing voices…”
Curtis allows that the bohemians can be indulgent and the songs pitched at a volume better suited to Broadway than London, but the score sweeps the objections away. Alexa Lopez’s UK stage debut as Mimi is called scorching, and the leads close to flawless within the show’s own limits.
The Independent
“Gaten Matarazzo succeeds but his co-stars shine in rock-solid Rent revival”
Reviewer: Louis Chilton
“…most of the other singers here, particularly Ross, Braich, and Nevers, are absolutely exceptional.”
Chilton approves of Sheppard’s choice to restate the show rather than reinvent it, with a revolving floor and live camera footage as the main modern touches. Matarazzo is judged affable and a good singer in a role that is passive by design, while the vocal fireworks come from the company around him.
WhatsOnStage
“Gaten Matarazzo makes his West End debut in an uplifting revival”
Reviewer: Sarah Crompton
“…this is a thrilling musical, both perfectly of its time and still relevant today.”
Crompton finds the piece baggy and episodic and the band very loud, but credits the in-the-round staging carried over from Hope Mill with lending it real spirit. Matarazzo’s mix of wit and intensity wins praise, and the warmest words of all are kept for Braich’s Angel.
Radio Times
“Stranger Things star leads electric 30th anniversary revival”
Reviewer: Olivia Garrett
“…if you like a good beat, good staging and very good acting, you'll feel this show in your bones.”
Garrett warns that this is more art piece than conventional musical, and a messy one. The choreography is called a triumph, Matarazzo a treat as the storyteller, and the staging is credited with keeping the show the right side of overload.
BroadwayWorld
“A fitting tribute to the monumental legacy of a musician and creative genius that we lost far too young”
Reviewer: Aliya Al-Hassan
“This version of Rent deserves the hype it has been receiving…”
Al-Hassan dismisses any idea of stunt casting, pointing to Matarazzo’s long stage record, and rates Nevers’s Collins the most deeply felt performance on stage. The chemistry between Collins and Angel is found a little lacking, the small screens around the set hard to read, and the running time a test for some.
London Box Office
Reviewer: Stuart King
“Is it a terrific piece with notable performances from a talented cast? Undoubtedly.”
King measures the revival against memories of New York at the turn of the 1990s and of seeing the original in 1996. The energy is immense, though some of the earnestness drags late in the evening; whether it matches Broadway is left open, the quality of the cast is not.
LondonTheatre1
Reviewer: Terry Eastham
“This 30th anniversary production is really good and will have a successful run in London.”
Eastham has two quarrels with the direction, the random images on the monitors and the audience seated on stage, but neither dents the enjoyment for long. Nevers and Braich are the standouts, and the review ends by urging readers to go.
Musical Theatre Review
“Rent has a phenomenal score, but the piece is not without its flaws…”
The song-cycle structure makes some characters hard to invest in, the review argues, and lyrics get lost in the rush of La Vie Bohème. The Collins and Angel partnership is the emotional heart, and Matarazzo’s debut is called a mighty fine one.
Read About Stuff
“…finds a new energy, underpinned by an exhilarating musicality that makes up for brief bloated moments…”
This notice is unconvinced by the onstage seating, which adds baggy moments without delivering a true 360-degree view. It is the cast that wins it over, with Nevers threatening to steal the show in the second half.
The Guardian
“Jonathan Larson’s New York bohos move into the West End and unpack their passions”
Reviewer: David Jays
“The revival is produced with devotion but, nudging three hours, also needs dramaturgical tough love.”
Jays thinks the production serves Larson the composer far better than Larson the lyricist, whose words are swamped by the sound. Some ballads could go and Mark fades from his own story, yet the review ends on the songs as the glory of the evening.
Plays International
Reviewer: Louise Penn
“This is an engaging and energetic revival that demonstrates why Rent continues to resonate.”
Penn rates the cast highly, Ross, Nevers and Braich above all, but feels the emotional weight of the story does not always land. A little more restraint in the delivery of some songs, the review suggests, would give the revival greater force.
West End Wilma
“But Rentheads will love it regardless – it just wasn’t the version of RENT that I wanted to see.”
The cast are praised warmly, but this reviewer wanted something grittier and finds the staging safe. The near three-hour running time is the other complaint, with a tighter cut suggested as the remedy.
Time Out
“A great staged concert but a less good theatre show”
Reviewer: Andrzej Lukowski
“A formidable vehicle for Larson’s songs, but a less impressive one for his story.”
Lukowski is the sharpest dissenter in the field. The music is loved, Lopez’s Out Tonight especially, but the review argues that Sheppard’s styling overrides the storytelling, that Matarazzo is miscast among a company of glamorous misfits, and that the Aids story has become background noise.
Attitude
“The definitive revival – every young LGBTQ person should see it”
Reviewer: Harry Finnegan
“This is the definitive RENT revival. It will become a staple among every other iteration…”
Finnegan connects the show’s housing worries to young people’s lives today and admires the restraint of the staging, down to the twelve chairs at its centre. Matarazzo’s sincerity and Ross’s anguish are praised, and Braich is called a star in the making.
Theatre Weekly
Reviewer: Greg Stewart
“Thirty years on, Rent remains a musical about people trying to create meaning in uncertain times…”
Stewart reads the production as a reclamation rather than a reinvention, with a softer, more idealistic Mark than usual. The design occasionally lacks the music’s energy, but Braich’s Angel is rated among the best the site has seen.
London Theatre Direct
“RENT more than measures up”
Reviewer: Alicia Bridge
“Matarazzo slipped into Mark's shoes all too easily, with the sweet, harmless, nerdy side of the character…”
Bridge came to the show knowing only the 2005 film, and finds Matarazzo catching both Mark’s sweetness and his more uncomfortable side. The staging, in this view, makes the piece feel more intimate than ever.
London Theatre Reviews
“A Rocking Revival”
“…with a very talented cast of singers across the board – does not disappoint.”
This critic declares an unashamed love of the show before starting, and the revival lives up to it. The one number that does not work here is Maureen’s protest, though Lazy Violet is credited with doing all that can be done to rescue it.
Production photographs by Pamela Raith and Danny Kaan.
Also reviewed by: The Telegraph (Dominic Cavendish, four stars, “Rent finally looks like a classic musical”), The Times (Clive Davis, “30 years on, this musical still rocks”) and The Stage (Tom Wicker, three stars, “Taps into the emotion”), whose reviews sit behind a paywall or a registration wall.
For the extension of the run and the first production photographs, see our news story from 6 October; for the Sondheim revival playing next door, our roundup of the Into the Woods reviews.
Rent is booking at the Tom Stoppard Theatre until Saturday 29 May 2027.
