This show, devised by Robert Lepage in Canada fifteen years ago, forms the operatic centrepiece of the 2024 Adelaide Festival.
If you went looking for a show that only glittered then you are out of luck because Briefs always cuts deeper than that.
When RENT opened in 1996 it tapped into a unique moment in the cultural zeitgeist. RENT was revolutionary in the way it approached the AIDS epidemic, addiction, poverty, sexuality and gender.
Hurrah for the bristling, infectious fun and gaiety and energy which breezes through the show’s dramatic arc and dance routines. The Australian cast is gifted.
The very title of the play is pronounced numerous times in its many meanings: A swelling of the heart – emotion, a swelling of the brain – neurological.
It is not moralistic, but brings us face-to-face with some of the biggest questions that face us in our complex society.