The award winning musical Rent is at the Pavilion Theatre in Gorleston this week. The show scooped numerous awards when it first opened on Broadway in 1996, including Tony Awards for Best Musical, Best Score & Best Book, Drama Circle Awards for Best Musical, Best Music, Best Lyrics and Best Book, as well as the 1996 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

The award winning musical Rent is at the Pavilion Theatre in Gorleston this week.

The show scooped numerous awards when it first opened on Broadway in 1996, including Tony Awards for Best Musical, Best Score & Best Book, Drama Circle Awards for Best Musical, Best Music, Best Lyrics and Best Book, as well as the 1996 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

Rent is being performed by the Gorleston Theatre Company and is an unusually hard-hitting musical for the group.

Director Jayne King explained: “The musical only became available for amateur performance shortly over a year ago, and because it's a show I really love, I jumped at the chance to be able to take it on for the Theatre Company. It is an immense challenge for all of us - the music covers such a wide range of styles and the lyrics are so important because almost the whole story is told through the singing.

“I first saw the show when it opened in the West End in 1998 and immediately loved the story and the music. It's extra exciting for us because it is the first time that Rent has been performed in the region, so it's great to be working on something new and more adventurous.”

One of the messages of the show is “no day but today”, urging all to fulfill lives.

The writer, Jonathon Larson, said: “It's not how many years you live, but how you fulfil the time you spend here. That's sort of the point of the show.” This message became even more poignant to the Broadway cast; the night of the final dress rehearsal, Larson was sick, but took a taxi to watch the show, and did a press interview before returning home. An hour later he had died of an aortic aneurysm, days before his 36th birthday.

Rent follows the lives of its characters throughout a year; the only story is how their stories grow and their friendships change.

Main roles in the show are played by regular GTC members Matthew Canwell, Anna Stagg, Nicky Rushton, Tara Kitchener and Bim Ainslie, with newcomers Philip Atherton, Tyler Curtis and Jack Thompson taking on the remaining principal roles.

Jayne said: “We have a great cast for this show with a good mixture of new and familiar faces who are all working well together. The show is there and ready to go, but we have a few vital rehearsals left to do in the theatre, as we have got together quite an unusual and interesting set for the show which won't be set up until this weekend. Rehearsals have been great fun and I am sure the talent and enthusiasm of the cast will bring this show alive to every one of us watching; it should be amazing.”

Gorleston Theatre Company's performances of Rent are at the Pavilion Theatre, nightly at 7.30pm until tomorrow, Saturday.

Tickets from the box office, 01493 662832, or online at www.gorlestonpavilion.co.uk, �10 and �12. The production is not suitable for children under the age of 14.