By Grace Hatchell
I have received some troubling news.
RENT is turning 30.
Thirty.
Years.
I have checked the dates several times because I was fairly certain 1996 happened about twelve years ago, but apparently somebody has been interfering with the calendar again.
Still, if we must confront the relentless passage of time, Musical Con has found a rather spectacular way of doing it.
Original RENT stars Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal are reuniting in London this October for a special 30th anniversary celebration of Jonathan Larson’s musical.
And not just popping along for a photograph and a polite wave.
The original Mark Cohen and Roger Davis will perform live together, talk about the show and look back over their extraordinary three-decade relationship with RENT when Musical Con returns to ExCeL London on 17 and 18 October 2026.
That is rather special.
Rapp and Pascal originated Mark and Roger when RENT opened on Broadway in 1996. They subsequently appeared in the original London production at the Shaftesbury Theatre in 1998 and returned to their roles for the 2005 film adaptation.
So Musical Con isn’t simply bringing together two actors who once appeared in RENT.
It is bringing back two people who were there at the beginning.
And I suspect there are going to be some emotional musical theatre fans in that audience.
Bring tissues.
Bring several.
The RENT 30th Anniversary Celebration will take place across both days of Musical Con, with Rapp and Pascal appearing on stage together to perform and reflect on what has happened since they first stepped into those roles three decades ago. Fans will also have the opportunity to meet them through separate Meet & Greet experiences available to Day and Weekend ticket holders.
It is also rather fitting that this particular reunion is happening during an anniversary for Musical Con itself.
The event celebrates its fifth year in 2026 and has grown into a two-day gathering of musical theatre performers, productions and fans, with performances, panels, interviews, workshops, exhibitions, competitions and opportunities to meet West End stars.
Co-founders Shanay Holmes and Chris Steward say RENT continues to mean an extraordinary amount to audiences around the world and describe bringing the original Mark and Roger together in London as an especially fitting way to celebrate Musical Con’s fifth anniversary.
They’re not wrong.
There are musicals that have successful runs.
There are musicals that develop devoted fans.
And then there are the ones that become part of people’s lives.
RENT belongs firmly in that final category.
Thirty years after Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal first played Mark and Roger, people are still singing the songs, discovering the show and finding something of themselves in it.
Now some of the people who discovered RENT decades ago will get to stand alongside fans discovering it much more recently and watch two members of its original company together again.
Musical theatre does nostalgia particularly well.
Although I still object to calling 1996 nostalgic.
Musical Con takes place at ExCeL London on Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 October 2026. Tickets are currently priced from £49 for a Day Pass and £85 for a Weekend Pass.
More guests and the full weekend programme are still to be announced.
As for me, I shall be investigating precisely who authorised thirty years to pass since 1996.
There will be paperwork.
— Grace
Title Musical Con
Dates Saturday 17th – Sunday 18th October 2026
Location ExCeL London, Royal Victoria Dock, London, E16 1XL
Tickets Day Tickets | £49
Weekend Tickets | £85
https://www.musicalcon.co.uk/tickets
About the Author
