RENT (Hope Mill Theatre/Umbrella Rooms)****

By Cal

Link: https://hopemilltheatre.co.uk/events/rent-online £20

Available until: Shows Friday and Saturday at 7.30pm and Sundays at 7pm. The final performance is Sunday 20^th December. The video is available from 7.15-11pm so you don’t need to watch it live, but you do need to watch it on the same night.

Content warning: Drug-use, strong language & themes of adult content. Parental guidance required for children under 15.

169 years ago, a man called Henri Murger wrote a series of stories called Scènes de la vie de bohème. This inspired not one but two composers to write an opera called La bohème. Ruggero Leoncavallo’s 1897 opera is actually really good, but it is Puccini’s 1896 opera that was embraced by the public – and which inspired composer, lyricist and writer Jonathan Morgan to create a musical based on La bohème but set in Lower Manhattan in New York. Sadly he did not live to enjoy the success of the musical, he died the night before the Off-Broadway premiere in 1996. But the show has proved popular. There have been a number of UK productions including three in the West End and one in a paper mill, as well as an eight-year run on Broadway.

ROSE (Hope Mill Theatre)*****

 

By Cal

Link: https://hopemilltheatre.co.uk/events/rose Rose by Martin Sherman (Hope Mill Theatre) further performances on 11th and 12th September. Tickets available before 10am on the day of the performance and the performance is available for 24 hours from 10am.

Available until: 26th September. Bookings need to be made before 10am on the day of your chosen performance.

The first time I saw Maureen Lipman, she was in a musical with Hugh Jackman – and she was my favourite. If that doesn’t say something about her talent, I’m not sure what does.

GODSPELL (Hope Mill Theatre)****

 

 By Cal

Link: https://hopemilltheatre.co.uk/events/godspell

Available until: You can book the show for tomorrow or the next day and have 24 hours to watch it.

This concert was made in lockdown to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of the musical Godspell. The cast filmed their music either in the privacy of their homes or a secluded outdoor venue and the songs were all edited together in order.

I have never actually seen Godspell so I don’t know how much speaking there usually is. There was just one speech in this and it was very effective having just one because it gave it extra impact, but I’m not sure how obvious the story would be to someone who didn’t know it. There is one very striking image late on which will probably make things very clear for most people, but until that point, it could be a concert of songs with no obvious story. This might be frustrating for people who want to follow the story, but Godspell has some great music and it’s wonderfully performed so that wasn’t something that bothered me – and if it has aroused my curiosity about a staged version of the musical, that isn’t a bad thing!