BRUCE Guthrie's 20th anniversary new production of RENT, The Musical, will visit York Theatre Royal from April 18 to 22.

Jonathan Larson’s American musical, inspired by Puccini’s opera La Bohème, won four Tony Awards, six Drama Desk Awards and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama on its debut in 1996.

RENT remained on Broadway for 12 years to 2008 and the London premiere ran for 18 months at the Shaftesbury Theatre. Larson's musical was adapted into a film in 2005, directed by Chris Columbus.

In RENT, the rising threat of AIDS casts a shadow over a group of bohemian artists that struggles to maintain friendships and non-conformist ideals in New York's East Village. Facing their problems head on, they make self-discoveries and find what matters most in life.

The story's poignancy was heightened when Larson died of an aortic dissection on January 25 1996, the night before the show’s first off-Broadway performance at New York Theatre Workshop.

Larson's score features such songs as Seasons Of Love, Take Me Or Leave Me, One Song Glory, La Vie Bohème, Without You, I’ll Cover You, Out Tonight, I Should Tell You and the title number.

Director Bruce Guthrie says: "I'm delighted to be working with a truly world-class creative team on this new production of Jonathan Larson's classic musical. Our aim is to serve the fans of the show who have loved it so passionately since its ground-breaking premiere Off Broadway in 1996, while introducing it to a new generation of musical theatre fans.

"We want to capture the essence of bohemian New York City at the height of the AIDS epidemic. It's a place of grime and excitement, where voices are fighting to be heard and the inhabitants are fighting to connect with one another, as well as fighting for their lives."

RENT is a celebration of life and living in the moment, suggests Guthrie. "It's blood and bone, sweat and tears, laughter and joy, despair, hate and love, all in this one remarkable year shared by a group of friends," he says. "It's a privilege to be working on one of the great ‘moment’ musicals and to celebrate 20 years of RENT."

Layton Williams, Shaney Holmes and Lucie Jones will lead Guthrie's cast in the Theatre Royal's 7.30pm evening shows, 2pm Thursday matinee and 2.30pm Saturday matinee. Box office: 01904 623568 or at yorktheatreroyal.co.uk