The choice of 'Rent' as their latest project is an adventurous one by WAWWA and they are to be congratulated as they bring it off with some aplomb. It is a show in which much of the dramatic and musical material can be difficult to come to terms with. Jonathan Larsson's score, lying somewhere between Stephen Sondheim amd 'Godspell', is an uneven one and,especially in Act 1, it can feel laboured. Fortrunately the cast is uniformly strong and, by and large, manage to maintain the interest.

The musical highpoint is the anthemic ‘Seasons of Love’ (there can be few songs so suggestive of a time and place, in this case 1990's New York). It runs like a thread through the second act as the young artists live out their bohemian lifestyles in a freezing garret - a plot based on Puccini's 'La Boheme' (it was strange to hear quotes from the opera ringing out on electric guitar).It is here that the show's most touching and effective moments occur - particularly around the death, through AIDS, of Angel (the excellent Luke Palfrey) and in a beautifully delivered 'Without You' (Scott Jenkins and Alex Reynolds). The excellent set and effective use of lighting supported the atmosphere well.

THis is a company that goes from strength to strength with verve, commitment and imagination . This was nowhere more evident than in Hannah Roper's highly convincing Maureen.