A ground breaking musical inspired by Puccini's opera La Boheme, it is set as a raw rock musical portraying the gritty and bohemian world of New York City's East Village in the late 1980s, under the shadow cast by HIV/AIDS.

RENT follows the tumultuous lives of a group of impoverished friends, trying to make it as artists, living in Manhattan's historic Alphabet City. It focuses on the lives of Mark, an inspiring film-maker, his roommate Roger, a struggling musician living with HIV, Collins, an HIV-positive anarchist professor, Angel, an HIV-positive drag queen street drummer, Mimi, a HIV-positive S&M erotic dancer, Mark's ex-girlfriend Maureen, a protest artist and activist, and her new girlfriend, lawyer Joanne.

It has been 20 years since RENT was first performed, yet, as the saying goes, 'the more things change, the more they stay the same'. It explores the love and losses of the main characters while highlighting stigmas around HIV/AIDs, sexuality, gender identity and poverty.

In 2013, 3,250 men in the UK were newly diagnosed with HIV - an all-time annual high. Whether artists or not, young people are increasingly grappling with the social and economic impacts of austerity and government cuts. The 62 richest people have as much wealth as half the world, and the wealthiest have bounced back from recession at expense of the middle classes. Tent squares, which set the RENT Oxford Playhouse stage from the first lines of the musical, were characteristic of the 'Occupy' movements which spread in 2011 from New York City to London, in protest of global inequality. So, it is unsurprising that RENT resonates with students today.

The performance by Kitty Murdoch, who plays Maureen, is worth particular mention. In her off-stage life, Kitty is a PGCE Chemistry student. In her first performance at the Oxford Playhouse, she was magnetic. Her formidable voice was striking. Her stage girlfriend, Joanne, was played by Annabel Reed. Together, they were outstanding. Eleanor Shaw played Mimi and was able to portray Mimi's strength and vulnerability incredibly well.

Unfortunately, last night's opening performance, which was nearly a sell out, suffered a number of sound and light difficulties. With eight key actors, and an ensemble of twelve more the technicians had their work cut out for them. But, the problems meant that much dialogue was completely inaudible. Despite the difficulties the cast soldiered on. Hopefully the team will be able to iron out most of these wrinkles for their remaining performances.

A key moment of the play sees trans woman, Angel, warmly and confidently played by Alexander Wickens, pass away, having suffered from HIV. However, technical difficulties made it impossible to hear much of Angel's final performance. Given that this was a defining moment for the second act, and the lives of the remaining 7 characters, it proved problematic.

Overall, this ambitious production highlighted the exceptional talents and courage of Curious Grin Productions.