Pride must-see: 525,600 reasons to see RENT onstage in Calgary

When is it the right time to tackle a musical so embedded in pop culture it practically sings for itself?

For Honest Collective Theatre, the answer is clear: no day but today.

And what an ambitious choice it is.

RENT marks the emerging company’s third-ever production, it’s first since COVID, and it’s first time stepping into a full theatre space after performing in found venues like churches and preschools.

“Give in to love — or live in fear”

For director Emmett Noonan, RENT feels perfectly timed for this moment.

“Art is always political,” they say. “Whether you want it to be or not, if you’re putting a story on stage, you’re making a statement. So why not use that platform?”

The show’s most urgent message today? Queer resistance and trans rights. Noonan knows that struggle personally and says current laws in the U.S. mean they can’t safely cross the border as per new American rules about gender markers on passports.

“…My gender marker on my passport does not match my biological sex because I’m trans,” they explain. “So without that matching, and without it matching my birth certificate, I am technically banned from traveling to the States.”

They say even if it weren’t a hard and fast rule they wouldn’t risk it right now and notes Alberta policies are often influenced by American ones.

“Will I lose my dignity?”

Even though RENT is set during the AIDS crisis, its core themes haven’t aged out.

“Even though the show is a period piece, we’re still fighting,” Noonan says. “We’re still trying to survive, still trying to find joy, even when it feels really hard sometimes.”

That’s why staging the show during Pride Month felt essential.

“There’s a lot of sadness in RENT, but I really wanted to highlight the joy. We so rarely get to see queer joy onstage. We always see queer tragedy. Finding joy is part of the resistance,” Noonan says.

Their favourite quote from 1980s queer activism?

We bury our friends in the morning. We protest in the afternoon. We dance all night.

“That’s the show,” they say. “That’s the heart of RENT.”

“How we gonna pay last year’s rent?”

RENT isn’t just about love and loss — it’s also about housing, stability, and survival.

“Housing instability is one of the biggest themes in the show,” says Noonan. “And we’re living through yet another housing crisis. Especially in Calgary, people are struggling more than ever to find affordable places to live. That rental trap — the cycle people get stuck in — it’s in the DNA of this story.”

“Measure in love”

The cast of 14 includes performers from across Alberta — including Edmonton and Sheridan College — all united by a deep connection to this show.

“RENT is a dream show for so many people,” says Noonan. “This cast put their whole hearts into it. Even just the rehearsal recordings? I swear, it sounds like a cast album.”

There’s no live band this time, but the show tracks and voices more than carry the weight — and then some.

“Even strangers in the audience were sobbing on opening night,” they say. “That’s how much it hit.”

“The revolution’s just begun”

Founded by artistic director Alex Bergen, Honest Collective is still in its infancy as a semi-professional company — but with bold selections like RENT on the menu, it’s clearly a group of artists to watch.

RENT runs at the Beddington Theatre Arts Centre until June 28.

Tickets available at honestcollectiverent.com