Gareth Hunter, owner of Sunderland-based production company Ion Productions, secured rights to the show before anyone else in the country.

"We wanted to do something a bit unusual and I thought Rent would fit the bill perfectly," he said.

"I contacted the family of the writer, Jonathan Lawson, and thought I would just wait and see."

Fortunately for Mr Hunter, after toing and froing with correspondence and contracts, he was granted the rights to perform the show.

And the 29-year-old, from South Shields, will produce and direct the performance.

"We're all so excited about this," he said. "Providing no one else performs it before June, it will be the national premiere.

"I'm very keen to keep the local element going and involve people from the north east.

"I've already had a lot of people contacting me about auditions, and they're not even scheduled to take place until the end of January.

"I'm expecting a good turnout at the auditions. It's a big show, and a hard sing, so we will be rehearsing for around four months. It will certainly be a challenge."

The show, which will run between June 10 and June 13 at the Customs House in South Shields, is set in New York in the early 1990s.

It follows a group of artists including a film director, a singer and a rockstar over the period of a year.

Mr Hunter, who has performed in more than 60 shows, including Titanic the Musical, Return to the Hidden Planet, My Fair Lady and Annie on four separate occasions, explains: "The show itself covers some controversial topics, such as homelessness, drugs and HIV.

"I plan to contact some charities and will hopefully take the cast along so that they can gain an insight into experiences which most of them will never have faced.

"In essence though, the show is about friendship, community and making the most of what you have."

Anyone aged 16 to 45 who may be interested in performing in Rent can contact Mr Hunter via e-mail at gareth@reallabour.co.uk.