SUDS’s latest production, Rent: The Musical (No, not that Rent), is a sharp, funny and raw ode to the perils of renting anywhere remotely near Sydney. This big-hearted musical, written, directed, designed and produced by Bella Wellstead, and composed by a dynamic range of musicians, combines a country-pop-inspired soundtrack with a distinctly Australian voice.
Wellstead’s highly observant writing constructs a vivid portrait of contemporary Australian living, which is affectionate and appropriately cynical. One of the first songs in the play’s original score, “Janky Old Place”, captures the dire state of overpriced and under-maintained rentals with a specificity that would be hilarious were it not so accurate. Wellstead’s talent for writing extremely specific yet hilariously relatable lyrics crystallises in “I Abandoned My Lip Balm on the Floor of a Public Toilet in Marrickville.”
In addition to its comedically accurate portrayals of life in the Inner West, Rent is also infused with the images, characters, and fears of the outback tradition. From the unnerving perpetual stickiness of pub tables and barstools, to the “crackling bark of summer gum trees”, and the unacknowledged but crippling sense of loss and loneliness that lurks beneath the “she’ll be right” surface, the musical both satirises and celebrates the Australian identity. This is largely achieved through the role of Ibis, played by Jasmine Jenkins. Jenkins’s ability to transition seamlessly from the rowdy Aussie bloke, replete with a smoker’s cough that would register on the Richter scale, to the polished, bitchy real estate agent, is immensely entertaining and deeply moving.
The characters of Joey (Finnegan Lai) and his totally platonic best friend Callum (Tiffany Henson), who move to Sydney from Mumbil (68 km north of Orange), enable the musical to foreground the experience of students from regional areas. The evolution of their relationship is enthralling and deeply poignant. Lai is magnetic from the moment he leaps onto stage. His comedic timing and confidence inject an electric energy into the musical. At the same time, Lai also brings a touching vulnerability to Joey in the play’s more dramatic moments. The musical showcases his skills as a singer and his performance in “Leave Me Lighter” alongside Henson is particularly moving.
Another stand out performance is that of Adele Beaumont, who brings tremendous poise and power to the role of Katie. Beaumont’s total immersion in her character is impressive and affecting. She delivers the feminist ballad “Who Is This Girl?” with remarkable grace and strength, giving voice to a beautifully rendered cross-generational solidarity between women. Beaumont’s talent is further showcased in “Done A Runner”, a righteous country anthem which she imbues with glorious female rage.
The relationship between Katie and Hazel, played by Jasmine Schofield, is a refreshing take on the trope of women being pitted against each other in competition for a man. Instead, Katie and Hazel treat each other with genuine forgiveness and mutual respect. They are united against Darren, the sleazy, arrogant academic, who substitutes an encyclopaedic knowledge of Shakespeare for a personality, and is reluctant to move out of his Mosman home, wherein his mother provides a complimentary cooking, cleaning and laundry service. Credit is owed to Felix Tonkin, whose performance of Darren instantly leaves the audience with a visceral ick.
Led by Musical Director, Conductor and Assistant Director Jessica Louise Smith, the band animates the action with a fun and quirky country sound, and provides a solid foundation for the more emotional moments in the story.
Credit is also due to Costume Supervisor Charlie Thomson and Costume Assistant Jesper Duffy, for their oversight of the colourful cowboy aesthetic of the costumes, which enhances the overall playfulness of the production.
The resolution of the story is largely driven by Trish, the fussing, maternal, and unpretentiously wise pub manager, whose portrayal by Nasrin Keast provides the emotional centre of the production. It is Trish who facilitates the sense of a found family at which the musical arrives. That Trish is the character given the only overtly political monologue in the musical is an impactful and perceptive artistic choice by Wellstead.
The impact of the witty and intricate lyrics was occasionally hampered on opening night by some technical issues, and the second act is somewhat overwhelmed by a quick succession of emotional revelations. However, the musical’s conclusion remains satisfying.
Though Rent is ostensibly about Australia’s chronic housing shortage and crippling rent prices, it is really a musical about love and the emotional politics of cohabitation. As the housing crisis forces us into increasingly insecure living arrangements and explodes the vision of the nuclear family, in the house with a yard and a white picket fence, Rent envisions a new model for housing, less traditional, but nonetheless home.
