Three Men in a Boat opens at Rose Theatre Kingston in new adaptation
Three Men in a Boat is now playing at Kingston's Rose Theatre in a brand new stage version.
The production is presented as a world premiere, meaning audiences in Kingston are seeing this staging first. It opened in the main house on 18 September and continues to 10 October. A press performance, the invited show held for critics, took place on 23 September. WhatsOnStage
The adaptation is by Al Smith. It is based on Jerome K Jerome's comic novella, a funny book written for print rather than the stage. The original story was published in 1889, which puts it more than 130 years before this production. An adaptation, in theatre terms, means that book has been reshaped into dialogue, scenes and stage action. WhatsOnStage
Four actors carry the show. Jonny Weldon plays Jerome, the writer figure at the centre of the story. Bronte Barbe plays Harris, and Richard David-Caine plays George. Calum Donald-Bruce completes the central company as Montmorency, known as Monty. That small ensemble means the same few faces stay with the audience right through the trip.
Behind the scenes, the production has a compact senior creative team. Christopher Haydon directs, leading rehearsals and shaping the staging. John Nicholson provides movement direction, the credited job that covers how performers use their bodies, handle physical comedy and move around the set. Simon Kenny is credited as designer, the role that creates the visual world including sets and costumes. Grant Olding composed the music, writing the original sound heard in the show.
The run sits in the autumn slot at the Rose. The theatre's own listing gives the dates in full as Friday 18 September to Saturday 10 October, a stretch of just over three weeks. The Rose bills the production in that listing as "a riotous new comedy". That billing is the theatre's own description of tone, not a verdict on the night. Rose Theatre
The venue itself is built around two rooms. The main house, where Three Men in a Boat is playing, is listed with 900 seats. The Rose also has a studio space listed as holding up to 200 seats. For context, a main-house run puts the show in the building's largest auditorium, in front of a full-size house each night. WhatsOnStage
What makes this stand out for a general audience is the simplicity of the offer. One well-known comic book. One new script. Four actors. Three weeks in Kingston.
