Goods Shed sees BLOC play the rent

BLOC Music Theatre’s latest production is offering a more intimate show than their previous efforts.

From Thursday, 11 August, the company will undertake a 10-days run of 1996 musical Rent at the Goods Shed.

With the theatre company’s regular venue, Her Majesty’s, unavailable due to upgrades, director Matt Henderson said their new location will provide a different atmosphere.

“With the closure of Her Majesty’s we had to pivot and find a new home. We’d been chatting with the Goods Shed people since September and it was just a no-brainer to go with Rent,” he said.

“It suits the venue so well and it hasn’t been done on a large scale in Ballarat before, so the stars have aligned with a show that would work in a space that’s brand new.

“It’s allowing us to explore a new format in bringing big Broadway blockbusters to a more boutique off-Broadway sensibility.”

With an ensemble cast of 19, Rent follows the lives of struggling artists in New York’s Alphabet City neighbourhood during the onset of the HIV epidemic in the 1980s.

BLOC’s 2021 production of Mama Mia! saw sold out shows throughout its run, and Henderson said the company expects a similar level of demand.

“You very rarely get to be the first show to go into a new space so it’s so exciting. The arts is coming back with a vengeance and this is going to be a perfect space for this,” he said.

“The Goods Shed is only about 300 seats and Her Maj is nearly three times that, so judging by the success of Mama Mia! people will want to get in quick.”

Rent takes to the stage from Thursday, 11 August to Sunday, 21 August.

Tickets are $49 and can be booked at bit.ly/3PYkmaw.