Studio Empire Performing Arts College to perform Rent the Musical at Somerset Theatre

The Gold Coast’s local performing arts scene continues to shine with a theatre group set to bring Rent the Musical to the stage this month.

Rent the Musical cast members Eryka Gray (Mimi), Gabriel Cordeiro (Angel), Marcelo Ribeiro (Roger) and Madeline Grice (Maureen) at rehearsals. Picture: Glenn Hampson

A Gold Coast performing arts college will bring Rent the Musical to the stage this month.

The show, which is set in the 1990s and tells the story of young impoverished artists struggling to survive in New York, will be performed by students from Studio Empire Performing Arts College’s (SEPAC) adult and pre-professional program.

SEPAC owner and show director Hannah Rigby said the production gave the cast “a chance to lift these stories out of the page and make them real for our audience”.

“Every character in Rent fights for connection, whether chosen or biological and that speaks directly to what many on the Gold Coast are experiencing right now; a hunger for belonging and visibility,” she said.

“Its themes of poverty, AIDS, same‑sex relationships and gentrification echo on the Gold Coast today.

“We see our own spikes in housing pressures, ongoing conversations around public health, and young people carving space for themselves creatively.

“This isn’t just nostalgia, it’s a mirror held up to us saying ‘This is your time. Use your voice.’”

Ms Rigby said there had been significant growth in the Gold Coast’s arts scene in recent months.

“There’s been such dynamic growth in the arts talent bursting at the seams, eager to tell stories that reflect our diversity and contemporary struggles,” she said.

“Bringing Rent here feels like honouring those talent pipelines and connecting our community’s rising artists with one of the world’s most iconic, yet still urgent, musicals.”

Rent the Musical will be performed at the Somerset Theatre in Mudgeeraba from July 3 to 6.

Tickets are available at www.sepac.com.au/tickets.

Originally published as Studio Empire Performing Arts College to perform Rent the Musical at Somerset Theatre