Three Men in a Boat world premiere announces complete cast

The Rose Theatre in Kingston has announced the full cast and creative team for the south-west London venue’s next production, Three Men in a Boat.

The new comedy is written by Al Smith, based on the classic novel by Jerome K Jerome, and features original songs by Tony Award nominee Grant Olding. It follows three friends – J, George and Harris – and a dog named Montmorency, who embark on a holiday trip up the River Thames.

The cast will include Jonny Weldon (101 Dalmatians) as Jerome, Bronté Barbé (Kathy and Stella Solve a Murder!) as Harris, Richard David-Caine (The Witches) as George and Calum Donald-Bruce (Dinosaur World Live) as Montmorency.

Under the direction of Christopher Haydon, the creative team includes Olding (who also serves as musical director and sound designer), John Nicholson (movement director and comedy consultant), Simon Kenny (set and costume designer), Simisola Majekodunmi (lighting designer), Juliet Horsley (casting director), Chris Pirie (puppetry director), Claudette Williams (voice and dialect coach) and Rebecca Wear (associate director – Drama League Rose Directing Fellow).

Haydon commented: “This beloved novel is over 130 years old, and when I first read it, I genuinely couldn’t believe how much it made me laugh! We commissioned Al Smith, who has written a wonderful new stage adaptation, and what he’s come up with is very, very funny; it’s a mixture of verbal wit and physical comedy, and it’s going to be very moving as well. It’s just so brilliant to be telling a story that begins right here in Kingston upon Thames.

“We’ve brought on a brilliant composer in Grant Olding; whose work I loved on One Man, Two Guvnors. So, what had originally started out as a play has transformed into a play with songs. Grant is writing a series of comic musical numbers that also serve a key narrative purpose in the show.“

Three Men in a Boat will run at Rose Theatre from 18 September to 10 October, with a press performance on 23 September.