Robert Mackintosh and Idili Theatricals Limited, in association with Theatr Clwyd and Wales Millennium Centre, will present the 20th Anniversary production of Jonathan Larson's award-winning musical Rent.

Jonathan Larson’s musical, inspired by Puccini’s opera La Bohème, won four Tony Awards, six Drama Desk Awards and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1996. Ben Brantley’s New York Times review was a love letter to the show, calling RENT an "exhilarating, landmark rock opera". RENT ran on Broadway for 12 years, from 1996 to 2008. The show premiered in London’s West End in 1998 at the Shaftesbury Theatre, where it ran for 18 months. It was adapted into a film in 2005.

Larson’s world is inhabited by a group of bohemian artists who struggle to maintain their friendships and their non-conformist ideals in New York's East Village. Facing their problems head on, they make personal self-discoveries and find what really matters most in life. The poignancy of the story was heightened when Jonathan Larson died of an aortic dissection on 25 January 1996, the night before the show’s first off-Broadway performance at New York Theatre Workshop.

The much-loved score features songs such as Seasons of Love, Take Me or Leave Me, One Song Glory, La Vie Bohème, Without You, I’ll Cover You, Out Tonight, I Should Tell You and the title song.

Ross Hunter (We Will Rock You, Legally Blonde, The Book of Mormon) will play Roger Davis, Billy Cullum (Matilda, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) will play Mark Cohen, Ryan O’Gorman (Les Misérables, The Phantom of the Opera, Billy Elliot) will play Tom Collins, Shanay Holmes (The Bodyguard, Close to You) will play Joanne Jefferson, Layton Williams (Billy in Billy Elliot and original Young Michael Jackson in Thriller Live) will play Angel Schunard, Philippa Stefani (In The Heights, I Can’t Sing!, Ghost the Musical) will play Mimi Marquez and Lucie Jones (The X Factor finalist whose theatre credits include Elle Jones in Legally Bllonde, Victoria in the world premiere of American Psycho at London's Almeida Theatre) will play Maureen Johnson. The cast will also include Kevin Yates, Jordan Laviniere, Christina Modestou, Bobbie Little, Jenny O’Leary and Katie Bradley. Casting for the role of Benjamin Coffin III will be announced shortly.

RENT UK TOUR

The Rent UK Tour has now concluded.

21 October - 12 November 2016

Theatr Clwyd Mold

15 - 19 November 2016

His Majesty's Theatre Aberdeen

22 -26 November 2016

Malvern Festival Theatre Malvern

29 November - 3 December 2016

Wycombe Swan High Wycombe

8 December 2016 - 28 January 2017

St James Theatre London

31 January - 4 February 2017

Devonshire Park Theatre, Eastbourne

6 - 11 February 2017

Churchill Theatre, Bromley

14 - 18 February 2017

Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

28 February - 4 March 2017

Liverpool Empire Theatre

7 - 11 March 2017

New Victoria Theatre Woking

28 March - 1 April 2017

Curve Leicester

3 - 8 April 2017

Wales Millennium Centre

11 - 15 April 2017

Cheltenham Everyman Theatre

18 - 22 April 2017

York Theatre Royal

1 - 6 May 2017

Poole's Centre For The Arts The Lighthouse

9 - 13 May 2017

Belgrade Theatre Coventry

16 - 20 May 2017

Nottingham Playhouse

23 - 27 May 2017

Assembly Hall Theatre, Tunbridge Wells

30 May - 4 June 2017

Lyceum Theatre, Sheffield