The Rose Theatre in Kingston has announced the full cast and creative team for the world premiere of Three Men in a Boat, a riotous new comedy by Al Smith with original songs by Tony Award nominee Grant Olding (One Man, Two Guvnors). Based on Jerome K. Jerome’s classic novel, it plays the Rose Theatre from 18 September to 10 October 2026.
Jonny Weldon (Rivals, One Day) leads as Jerome, alongside Bronté Barbé (Kathy and Stella Solve a Murder!) as Harris, Richard David-Caine (The Witches, Horrible Histories) as George, and Calum Donald-Bruce as the dog Montmorency. The production is directed by Rose Theatre Artistic Director Christopher Haydon, following the success of his acclaimed adaptation of Emma.
Set on a carefree boating trip up the Thames from leafy Kingston to Oxford, the story follows three lifelong friends whose journey is beset by torrential rain, alarmingly eccentric dogs, some dangerously rancid cheese and three dozen angry swans. Beginning its tale right where the theatre stands in Kingston upon Thames, it’s billed as a celebration of abiding friendship and calamitous adventure — “Jeeves and Wooster meets Apocalypse Now.”
Haydon said the 130-year-old novel “genuinely” made him laugh out loud, praising Smith’s adaptation as “a mixture of verbal wit and physical comedy” that is “going to be very moving as well.” What began as a play, he explained, has “transformed into a play with songs,” with Olding writing “a series of comic musical numbers that also serve a key narrative purpose.”
Movement director and comedy consultant John Nicholson promised that “there’s very little time that goes by in this show where something doesn’t go catastrophically wrong,” adding that “anyone that enjoys physical comedy… will have a really great time.”
Plan your visit to Three Men in a Boat
- Theatre: Rose Theatre, 24–26 High Street, Kingston upon Thames, London KT1 1HL
- Booking dates: 18 September – 10 October 2026
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