Everything you need to know about Rent returning to London

Here are all the facts about the cult classic musical as it prepares to return to the West End stage

Rent is coming back to the West End after twenty-five years away and there’s no doubt that it’ll be one of the hottest tickets in town in this autumn. Jonathon Larsen’s rock opera remains among the most beloved musicals of all time, with a dedicated fanbase and an enormous portfolio of awards under its belt. Despite all that, London audiences have not had much to do with the show in a very long time. If you’re looking to learn more about the Pulitzer Prize-winning show before its return, here are all the facts you need to know.

When will Rent come to London?

The new London revival will play its first performance on 26 September 2026 and is currently booking until 13 February 2027.

Who’s starring in Rent?

Gaten Matarazzo will star as Mark, an aspiring documentary filmmaker who has just been dumped by his girlfriend. He also serves as the show’s narrator. Further casting information has yet to be announced.

Matarazzo is best known for playing Dustin in Netflix’s Stranger Things, but this is far from his first theatre credit – he’s performed on Broadway in Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, Les Misérables, Dear Evan Hansen and Sweeney Todd. Rent will mark his West End debut.

Which theatre will the show play at?

The revival will open at the Duke Of York’s Theatre in London’s West End.

Who’s on the creative team?

The production will be helmed by Olivier-winning director Luke Sheppard, whose successes include & Juliet, Starlight Express and Just For One Day. Most recently, Sheppard brought the multi award-winning Paddington The Musical to the Savoy Theatre.

Choreography is by Tom Jackson Greaves, with set design by David Woodhead, costume design by Gabriella Slade, lighting design by Howard Hudson, audio production and sound design by Paul Gatehouse, video design and cinematography by George Reeve and Nathan Amzi, makeup and hair design by Jackie Saundercock, musical supervision by Bill Sherman, associate musical supervision and musical direction by Katy Richardson, intimacy direction by Asha Jennings-Grant, associate direction from Priya Patel Appleby and dialect coaching by Joel Trill.

Who wrote Rent?

Rent was written and composed by Jonathon Larson, who was twenty-nine when he began writing the show in 1989. After several years of writing and workshopping, the show prepared to open Off-Broadway in 1996 – however Larson tragically passed away shortly after the final dress rehearsal, and did not get to witness the phenomenon that the show would go on to become.

What’s Rent about?

Rent is a rock opera loosely based on the 1896 opera La bohème by Giacomo Puccini, Luigi Illica, and Giuseppe Giacosa. It tells the story of a group of struggling young artists in Manhattan as they contend with poverty and the looming shadow of the HIV/AIDS crisis and depicts the area’s underground bohemian culture.

What songs are in it?

Rent contains a number of iconic musical theatre songs, most notably the anthemic ‘Seasons of Love’. Other fan favourites are ‘La Via Boheme’, ‘Light My Candle’, ‘I’ll Cover You’, ‘One Song Glory’ and ‘Take Me Or Leave Me’.

When was Rent first performed?

Rent opened off-Broadway in 1996 at New York Theatre Workshop, before its immense popularity sent it to the Nederlander Theatre on Broadway just a few months later. The original Broadway production closed in September 2008 after 5,123 performances.

When was it last in London?

Rent had its West End premiere in 1998 at the Shaftesbury Theatre, closing a year and a half later. There were a handful of limited revivals at the Prince of Wales Theatre in the early 2000s, and there have been several regional revivals since, including an acclaimed version at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2023. However, the new production at the Duke of York’s Theatre marks the first major West End revival since the original 90s run.

Has it won any awards?

The Broadway production of Rent was nominated for ten awards at the 1996 Tony Awards, winning four, including Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, and Best Original Score. That same year, amongst a flood of other awards, the show won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It was also nominated for Best Musical Show Album at the 1997 Grammy Awards.

The original West End production was nominated for three awards at the 1999 Olivier Awards, including Best New Musical.

Why should I see it?

Rent remains one of the most influential musicals of all time, ushering a new era of musical theatre that aimed to capture young audiences with a modern sound (Larsen famously felt he was writing for the ‘MTV generation’.) Although now three decades old, the show still manages to be timely, provocative and deeply moving – with a phenomenal score to boot. Don’t miss what promises to be one of the defining revivals of 2026.