KINETIC THEATRE ARTS PRESENTS RENT | STAGE REVIEW
St David’s College, Cardiff, Mon 16 Dec
I should tell you that I’m a big fan of catchy rock musical RENT – which made me a strange mix of excited and apprehensive about seeing by the production by amateur youth theatre group Kinetic Theatre Arts. I was looking forward to hearing some really great musical numbers but I was nervous that a show I love might be mistreated. Thankfully I needn’t have worried as I was met by a fun and well thought out performance.
The cast of Kinetic took on the subject matter dealt with in RENT (drugs, relationships, poverty and HIV/AIDS amongst them) with maturity and professionalism. The large cast was well organised and created an effective chorus that gave the infectious songs strength and depth.
The main cast worked hard to capture the popular characters of RENT, a task that can be difficult to do without coming of as unlikeable, and did and damn good job. There are certainly some stars in the making in Kinetic’s cast.
Special mentions need made of Joseph Crabbe playing drag queen Angel, who was fun and entertaining to watch and his ability to dance on a table in ridiculously high-heels must be commended, and Charlotte Bloomfield who took on the role of dancer and drug addict Mimi with passion and power.
Lucy Counsell also deserves her own mention – she played a few small roles in the production but whose great voice and subtle acting style still shone through.
All in all this production of RENT has all the heart and soul of a bigger budget version (which in a way captures the spirit of the show itself) and is defiantly worth a watch.
Kinetic Theatre Arts presents RENT, Mon 16 – Thurs 18 Dec, St David’s College, Cardiff. Tickets: £8. Info: www.kinetictheatrearts.com