RENT Comes to Midsumma 2026 in St Michael's Community and St Kilda Creatives Collaboration
St Michael's community and St Kilda creatives collaborate for a poignant production of RENT.
By: Gillian Blum Jan. 03, 2026
St Michael's community and St Kilda creatives will collaborate for a poignant production of RENT at Midsumma 2026.
Performances at Performing Arts Centre, St George's are from January 21-24 at 7:30 p.m. (with a 2 p.m. matinee on January 24).
This exciting new theatre initiative unites the St Michael's community with a broader creative network in a celebration of diversity, representation and the power of learning from, with and for the world. RENT is a timeless story of community, resilience, and social justice, and this production will unite generations of performers and audiences with a shared passion for artistry, inclusion and those passionate about shaping and supporting theatre that reflects our values and vibrant St Kilda community.
Jonathan Larson's enduring rock-opera, RENT, is an enduring story of love, resilience, social justice and the human condition. Set in New York's East Village at the height of the AIDS crisis, the musical follows a year in the lives of seven friends navigating poverty, addiction, illness and the rapid gentrification of their neighbourhood. These struggles are not metaphors; they are lived realities that shaped a generation and reshaped the meaning of community.
In today's world, where social isolation persists beneath hyper-connectivity, where the cost-of-living pushes people further to the margins, and where we continue to reckon with crises both global and personal, RENT resonates with renewed urgency. The show reminds us of what we risk losing: the accidental encounters that shape us, the places where strangers become family, the radical act of showing up for each other when systems fail. Its politics may belong to the 1990s, but its heartbeat — love as resistance — remains timeless.
This inaugural production unites performers and creatives from the St Michael's community with the wider St Kilda community to create theatre with purpose, courage and heart.
Among some of the St Michael's alumni involved in the project are sisters Stephanie (OM '02) and Danielle Amir (OM' 04), whose connection to RENT spans decades. The Amirs travelled to New York in 1996 to see the original Broadway production, an experience that profoundly shaped their understanding of theatre, identity and representation at a time when the show's themes were still considered taboo. For them, returning to St Michael's to perform RENT in the school's stunning new Performing Arts Centre is a meaningful full-circle moment. Danielle has continued her passion for singing through community choirs, while Steph has built an extraordinary career in public life. She was elected in 2016 as Darebin's first openly queer councillor, leading impactful LGBTIQA+ inclusion initiatives, and later served as Program Manager for the Pathways to Politics initiative for aspiring women leaders.
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