I went to see Rent at the Duke of York’s theatre on Tuesday night and having seen the Broadway version I was excited at the prospect of seeing such an immense show in the West End.

Roger, played by Luke Evans was phenomenal, every time he sang I got goose bumps and don’t get me started on the raunchy Tango scene between Joanna (Francesca Jackson) and Mark (Oliver Thornton)…..I come over all faint thinking about it, someone get me a bucket of cold water! That man is ridiculously attractive, not to mention ripped! There was some eye candy for the boys too, Denise Van Outen oozed sex appeal from the moment she appeared at the end of Act One but she slightly destroyed it for me with her lack lustre American accent and stand up style discussion with the audience; some poor girl was dragged to her feet, whilst Denise discussed her presence..let’s just say she was gifted in a certain department!

Elements of the show were particularly jarring and I am still none too sure about the “techno twist”…just as a warning this show uses a fair amount of strobe lighting so beware! I think for anyone new to the production, read up about the show before you go as the story is not as clear as its Broadway counterpart. Fans of Siobhan Donaghy turn away now…to be honest I was surprised as she gave a very mediocre performance and her voice was nowhere near what I was expecting, Francesca Jackson was by far the best female singer (that includes Denise Van Outen!).

Overall I was a little disappointed, the elements were all there but I was left feeling a little deflated. I think the production will improve as they relax into their new roles but it is not one I would see again - although I will definitely be signing up for anything Oliver and Luke appear in again!

Check out Oliver Thornton in Les Misérables as Enjolras:

Technorati Tags: denise van outen, duke of yorks theatre, francesca jackson, luke evans, oliver thornton, Rent, rent musical, Siobhan Donaghy

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 10th, 2007 at 3:10 pm and is filed under Theatre. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.