Full Casting Announced for RENT at the Tom Stoppard Theatre

FULL CASTING ANNOUNCED

FOR

JONATHAN LARSON’S

TONY AWARD® AND PULITZER PRIZE WINNING MUSICAL

AT LONDON’S TOM STOPPARD THEATRE

FROM 26 SEPTEMBER 2026

Chris Harper Productions and Sonia Friedman Productions in association with Hope Mill Theatre are delighted to announce full casting for the new production of Jonathan Larson’s Tony Award® and Pulitzer Prize winning musical RENT, directed by Olivier Award winner Luke Sheppard.

Joining the previously announced Gaten Matarazzo as Mark, Travis Ross as Roger, Billy Nevers as Collins, Lazy Violet as Maureen, Olivier Award nominee Danielle Fiamanya as Joanne, Jeevan Braich as Angel and Joaquin Pedro Valdes as Benny, will be Alexa Lopez as Mimi, making her West End debut.

Bella Brown will no longer appear as Mimi this autumn. Bella has made the difficult decision to withdraw from the production due to an injury sustained prior to rehearsals.

Alexa Lopez (Mimi) most recently appeared as Christine in the immersive off-Broadway production Masquerade based on Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera. Her further theatre credits include Sondheim’s Old Friends on Broadway, which marked her Broadway debut, Cosette in the North American tour of Les Misérables, and originating the role of April in the world premiere of Falcon Girls at the Yale Repertory Theater.

The cast is completed by Baylie Carson, Laura Delany, Ryesha Higgs, Montoya Holloway-Johnson, Rhys Hopkins, Shem Omari James, Hannah Macpherson, TJ Matara-Holloway, Ryan Nixon, Leah Vassell, James Wilkinson-Jones and Kevin Yates.

Celebrating 30 years since the musical premiered on Broadway, RENT will begin performances at the Tom Stoppard Theatre (currently named the Duke of York’s Theatre) on 26 September 2026 with an opening night on 8 October 2026. The production is booking until 27 March 2027.

Set in New York's East Village, RENT follows a group of young artists, musicians and friends, navigating love, ambition and creativity while trying to build lives on their own terms. Inspired by Puccini's La Bohème, this iconic musical captures the joy, uncertainty and resilience of a generation determined to make every moment count. Featuring an unforgettable score and a story that continues to resonate, RENT is a powerful celebration of community, connection and a call to live every minute as if it were your last. No day but today.

RENT has music, lyrics and book by Jonathan Larson. It is directed by Luke Sheppard with choreography by Tom Jackson Greaves. Set design is 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, make-up and hair design by Jackie Saundercock, UK Casting by Pearson Casting CSA, CDG, CDA and US Casting by Jim Carnahan CSA. The musical supervisor is Bill Sherman and the musical director and associate musical supervisor is Katy Richardson, the intimacy director is Asha Jennings-Grant, the associate director is Priya Patel Appleby and the dialect coach is Joe Trill.

This production of RENT will be produced in the West End by Chris Harper Productions, Sonia Friedman Productions, Winkler & Smalberg and Julie Larson in association with the Hope Mill Theatre.

www.rentthemusical.com