I have to admit, the first time I sat through a musical that actually felt like it was wrestling with real life rather than lecturing me, I was hooked. That memory came flooding back as I thought about The Jonathan Larson Project, which officially opens tonight at Southwark Playhouse Borough after previews kicked off last week.
The show, conceived by Jennifer Ashley Tepper, draws from the archives of the man who gave us Rent and the semi-autobiographical tick, tick... BOOM!. It features music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson himself, including songs that have never been heard before. Rather than chasing the latest fashionable reinterpretation, this production leans into the raw, human storytelling that made his work endure. In an arts world increasingly pressured to tick ideological boxes, there is something quietly radical about simply letting an artist's original voice speak.
Max Harwood leads the cast as Man One, joined by Imelda Warren-Green as Woman One, Michael Mather as Man Two, Natalie Kassanga as Woman Two and Marcus Collins as Man Three. John Simpkins directs what is the European premiere, following a well-received Off-Broadway run. The whole thing marks thirty years since Larson's sudden death in January 1996 from an aortic dissection, just one day before Rent opened in New York and changed the face of musical theatre.
His sister Julie Larson, one of the producers alongside Thomas Hopkins and SAMS Entertainment, put it rather beautifully.
It means so much to us to bring this show to a UK audience and to continue honouring Jonathan’s extraordinary work and legacy. This new celebration of my brother’s previously unheard music offers an intimate portrait of an artist who was truly ahead of his time, and we are deeply honoured to share it with you.
That intimacy seems to be the point. Instead of grand spectacle or heavy-handed messaging, the revue offers a portrait of a young artist in New York trying to change the world through his work. It is a reminder that the best theatre has always sprung from restless imagination and personal struggle, not committee-approved themes. London's theatre scene has always thrived on precisely this sort of thing: productions that respect the Western musical tradition while letting genuine talent shine.
The run continues until 22 August, giving plenty of time to catch it in the Large theatre at Southwark Playhouse. At just one hour and twenty-five minutes with no interval, it wastes no time getting to the heart of things. And in an era when so much cultural output feels engineered for applause from the right quarters, there is real pleasure in something rooted in one man's singular vision.
