The wait for the full company is over. Producers have announced principal casting for the 30th-anniversary production of RENT, and it is a company of eight rising stage talents led by Gaten Matarazzo, best known to millions as Dustin in Stranger Things, in his West End debut. The same announcement brought a second piece of good news: due to demand, booking has now been extended to Saturday 27 March 2027. Performances begin on 26 September 2026 at the Duke of York's Theatre, the St Martin's Lane playhouse that is being renamed The Tom Stoppard Theatre.
Who is in the RENT cast
What makes this line-up worth a closer look is that almost every name on it is someone London audiences have very recently watched, often in a leading role, somewhere else in the West End. Here is the full principal company and where you may have just seen them.
- Gaten Matarazzo as Mark Cohen. The Stranger Things star, a Screen Actors Guild Award winner, is no stranger to a stage: he most recently played Tobias in the acclaimed Broadway revival of Sweeney Todd, and his credits include Dear Evan Hansen on Broadway. RENT is his West End debut.
- Travis Ross as Roger Davis. Ross played Bobby in Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club and has appeared in 42 Balloons and West Side Story. He is also set to feature in the upcoming Apple TV series The Wanted Man.
- Bella Brown as Mimi Marquez. Fresh from playing Rapunzel in Into the Woods at the Bridge Theatre, Brown was a WhatsOnStage Award nominee for Jamie Lloyd's Evita at the London Palladium and has appeared in Hadestown and Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends.
- Billy Nevers as Tom Collins. Currently playing Simon and alternate Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar at the London Palladium, Nevers has also been seen as Aaron Burr and Lafayette/Jefferson on the UK and Ireland tour of Hamilton, and in Groundhog Day at the Old Vic and & Juliet.
- Jeevan Braich as Angel Dumott Schunard. Braich won both the WhatsOnStage Award for Best Professional Debut and the Stage Debut Award for his breakout turn as Rusty in Starlight Express at Troubadour Wembley.
- Lazy Violet as Maureen Johnson. They are no stranger to the role, having played Maureen before, and have appeared as Katherine Howard in SIX and in Public the Musical at the Edinburgh Fringe.
- Danielle Fiamanya as Joanne Jefferson. An Olivier Award nominee for Brigadoon at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre, Fiamanya was in the original West End casts of both Frozen and & Juliet, and won a Stage Debut Award for The Color Purple.
- Joaquin Pedro Valdes as Benny. Valdes played in Death Note at the London Palladium and the Lyric, and has appeared in The Lion King on tour, The Frogs and Pacific Overtures.
Those are the couples that carry RENT: Roger and Mimi, the songwriter and the dancer circling each other through the winter; Tom Collins and Angel, the show's warmest and most tender pairing; and Maureen and Joanne, the performance artist and the lawyer whose on-again love supplies some of the sharpest comedy in the score. It is a young ensemble by design, and the producers, Chris Harper and Sonia Friedman, framed it that way, calling them an "extraordinary young company" whose individuality and fearlessness are exactly what has kept RENT alive for three decades.
A production with real pedigree
This is not a revival assembled from scratch. It grows out of director Luke Sheppard's staging of RENT at Manchester's Hope Mill Theatre, which won the WhatsOnStage Award for Best Regional Production and earned a devoted following. Sheppard has since become one of the most in-demand directors in musical theatre: he is a 2020 Olivier Award winner and the director of the record-breaking Paddington The Musical and the international hit & Juliet, as well as the long-running Starlight Express in London.
He is joined by choreographer Tom Jackson Greaves, set designer David Woodhead, costume designer Gabriella Slade, lighting designer Howard Hudson and sound designer Paul Gatehouse, with Bill Sherman as musical supervisor and Katy Richardson as musical director. The production is presented by Chris Harper Productions and Sonia Friedman Productions in association with Hope Mill Theatre, three of the most decorated names in British and Broadway producing.
Why RENT still matters at 30
Jonathan Larson's rock musical, loosely based on Puccini's La Boheme, transplants that opera's doomed young bohemians to New York's East Village in the shadow of the AIDS crisis. It follows a group of artists, musicians and friends trying to make rent, make art and make their lives count on their own terms. Larson won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Musical for it, but he never saw its success: he died suddenly from an aortic aneurysm in January 1996, aged 35, just before the show's first performance off-Broadway. It went on to run for twelve years on Broadway and has been staged all over the world since.
The reason it endures is the score. "Seasons of Love," with its famous "five hundred, twenty-five thousand, six hundred minutes," has long outgrown the show itself. "La Vie Boheme" is one of musical theatre's great act-one closers, and "One Song Glory," "Light My Candle," "Out Tonight" and "Take Me or Leave Me" have become audition-room and cabaret standards. Its rallying cry, "No day but today," is the reason people keep coming back: RENT is a show about living fully in the time you have, and at 30 it has lost none of its urgency.
The venue: a theatre with a brand-new name
RENT arrives at a landmark moment for its home. The Duke of York's Theatre on St Martin's Lane is being renamed The Tom Stoppard Theatre in honour of the playwright, who died in November 2025. Whichever name is above the door by opening night, it is an intimate, much-loved West End house, which suits a show built on closeness and community rather than spectacle. It is one of the more affordable star-led tickets of the autumn, too.
When RENT opens and how to book
RENT begins performances on 26 September 2026, with opening night on 8 October, and now runs to 27 March 2027. Tickets are on sale now, and there is plenty of availability under £45 if you look midweek, with the opening weeks in the autumn understandably pricier, as you would expect for a brand-new production in strong demand. Our advice is the same as ever: if you want the best value, look midweek and book ahead rather than leaving it to the last minute. You can check dates and book RENT on tickadoo, and tickadoo+ members save across bookings.
RENT is one of a striking run of star-led openings this autumn. See what else is arriving in our guide to the star-studded autumn on the London stage, read more about the theatre's renaming in Tom Stoppard's honour, or browse everything across our London theatre pages.
Frequently asked questions
Who is in the West End cast of RENT?
The principal company is Gaten Matarazzo as Mark, Travis Ross as Roger, Bella Brown as Mimi, Billy Nevers as Collins, Jeevan Braich as Angel, Lazy Violet as Maureen, Danielle Fiamanya as Joanne and Joaquin Pedro Valdes as Benny, with further casting to be announced. Casts can change, so check the show's page for the latest.
When does RENT open in London?
RENT begins performances at the Duke of York's Theatre on 26 September 2026, with opening night on 8 October 2026. Booking currently runs to 27 March 2027.
Where is RENT playing, and is the theatre changing its name?
RENT plays at the Duke of York's Theatre on St Martin's Lane, which is being renamed The Tom Stoppard Theatre in honour of the late playwright. It is the same building, so tickets remain valid whichever name is in use.
How much are RENT tickets, and when are they cheapest?
There is plenty of availability under £45 on midweek dates, with the opening weeks priced higher. As a rule, midweek performances booked ahead offer the best value. Check live availability for your date on the show's page.
Who wrote RENT and what is it about?
RENT has music, lyrics and book by Jonathan Larson, who won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Musical for it. Loosely based on Puccini's La Boheme, it follows a group of young artists and friends in New York's East Village navigating love, ambition and community. This production marks 30 years since the musical premiered.
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