Interview: 'An Iconic Role Like This Can Be Daunting': Actor Billy Nevers On The West End Revival of RENT

To celebrate its 30th anniversary, one of the most beloved musicals of all time, Rent, has returned to the West End. Written by Jonathan Larson, the Tony- and Pulitzer Prize-winning show - inspired by Puccini’s La bohème - follows the lives of a group of young people living in New York City in the 1990s during the AIDS crisis.

Recently, we had the chance to speak with Billy Nevers, who plays Tom Collins in this production of Rent. We discussed what it has been like to take on such an iconic musical, his favourite songs from the show to perform and listen to and even what it was like to rehearse for this show whilst in Jesus Christ Superstar!

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How did you first get started in the world of theatre? 

We're going all the way back! I come from quite a theatrical family. My mum was an actor, my grandparents are very involved in theatre. A lot of my family are big theatre-goers. So I was introduced from the jump into what the world of theatre was, and took a strong liking to it very early on. The theatre space is a perfect place for a child to let themselves be free. And I was introduced from a very young age. My family, my brother included, used to go to a youth theatre. He very much does not do that anymore, but we were just introduced to it from a young age with no pressure to feel like we were going to end up here. But I enjoyed it - my brother ended up hating it! I ended up sticking it out, and I've taken it as far as I can!

And what made you want to be a part of this production of Rent? 

I have loved Rent! I think every young person that's studying theatre has sung “Seasons of Love” at some point, and that was my first introduction to the show. I remember watching the movie, and I also saw the 20th anniversary production in London. That was my first time seeing it live on stage, and I just remember being so viscerally moved by the show.

And when this came up, I just thought, “I can't miss out on that opportunity. I have to be a part of this.” And thank God it all worked out!

Can you tell us a bit about the rehearsal process for this show?

The rehearsal process was, for me, very difficult and tiring. I was doing another show at the time. I was doing Jesus Christ Superstar at the Palladium at the time, and was rehearsing this show in the day [...] But what I spent a lot of time focusing on was building a strong relationship with Jeevan [Braich], who plays Angel. We only had four weeks to rehearse, and to build a connection that feels real, it has to be real, and you have to build that connection. So we spent a lot of time in rehearsals getting to know each other, learning how each of us work, what we need and how we are best together going to create this thing. 

How do you take a role like Collins in such an iconic show and make it your own, while still remaining true to the character?

The thing with this show is that we're playing real human beings. These are people that you should be able to look at and understand instantly, feel like you know a Collins, a Mark, a Roger, so you have to allow yourself to lead that. You, as the human being, as the actor, have to really just base it off of what you, as a human, can deliver with the material.

My process is avoiding any previous material. So once I booked the show, I didn't listen to the soundtrack, watch the movie or watch the pro shot, because you then tend to borrow and take little things. I think that then takes you further away from you. So I instantly shut Rent out as soon as I knew I was doing the show, and also just went back to basics. Who is this person? What is the story I'm trying to tell here? And what I found with this character is that his purpose in this show is to showcase love and the loss of love. That is his purpose, and that is what we are trying to deliver with each moment in the show. And then looking at how I show love as Billy, and how I feel about the loss of love or those experiences that I've been through. How do I use that and implement it to create this fully rounded, three-dimensional human being? 

And tackling an iconic show like Rent can be pretty daunting, because people have a lot of love for the original, or the specific person that they saw when it unlocked their love for the show. You just have to stay human and stay real, and hopefully that does the job of resonating with people. To tackle an iconic role like this can be daunting, which is why I switch off the previous iterations. 

And what has it been like seeing audience reactions? 

Overwhelming, very overwhelming! I didn't anticipate how much people loved this show, and how it literally pulls responses out of people. On an evening, you can hear cackles of laughter, as well as a whole load of sniffles and applause. People really open their hearts to the show and just allow themselves to really give everything that they have in their soul. 

Do you have a favourite song from Rent, either to perform or to listen to? 

To listen to, I love “What You Own” close to the end of Act Two - Gaten [Matarazzo, Mark] and Travis [Ross, Roger] are magnificent. The way that we've staged it in this show, I absolutely love it. In tech, I used to run out and watch them do it. To do, is definitely “I'll Cover You” in Act One with Jeevan. It's so rare to see such a complex relationship, such a complex and nuanced love between two characters, just delivered so simply. And these characters - a gender non-conforming drag queen and a black professor from New York - you never see those types of human beings get to just have a very simplistic showcase of love. 

What do you hope audiences take away from this production of Rent? 

I hope that people take away the love and the heart of these people that we've showcased and worked so hard to produce. The similarities to today's society and how we live is so relevant. The show is so relevant. It's a group of marginalised people who are the subject of misinformation of a community and are neglected in many ways by powers that be. We live through that now.

I hope that people take from this show that the outside noise and pressures of the structure of society sometimes isn't the forefront of life. And actually, there is no day but today. Live in the present and find the joys whilst you can, because tomorrow is never promised - that's our message of the show. I hope that people leave the auditorium and hug their friends and loved ones, because there is no time like now to do that. So I hope that people leave leading with love and have a good night at the theatre.

And finally, how would you describe Rent in one word? 

The word that I would use - and I've said it a lot - is human. These people are so human, and the experiences that they go through are so human. There's no additional fluff surrounding those stories - we're telling a story of grief at its rawest form. We're telling a story of love at its truest form, about people living with disease at its realest and rawest form. 

Read our review of Rent here.

Rent is currently running through 27 March 2027 at The Tom Stoppard Theatre