Lives unravel on boat journey as reality bites

A NEW production coming to Reading Rep Theatre next week revisits the themes in a Jerome K Jerome classic, but with a twist.

Camille Ucan says that her comedy, Three Hens in a Boat, her debut as a playwright, is “very different” to Jerome’s 1889 novel, Three Men in a Boat.

The play is a joint production by Reading Rep Theatre in King’s Road, Reading, and the Watermill Theatre in Bagnor, near Newbury.

“It’s inspired by Jerome K Jerome’s book, rather than an adaptation of it,” she says. “I would say I’ve taken the trip along the River Thames location and I guess the similarities you could say are the journey.

“I wanted to write a show that was three women rather than three men and instead of being friends, they are from one family, so a grandmother, a mother and a daughter.”

Camille plays the daughter, Jay, with Verona Rose playing her mother, Gloria, and Ellen O’Grady playing the part of Claudette, who is her grandmother.

Verona has appeared in BBC Three’s Fully Blown, Netflix’s Top Boy and CBBC’s Horrible Histories and is a presenter of ITV2’s Secret Crush.

Ellen has appeared in productions of Porgy and Bess and Nine.

“In the book I think it’s a lot about this idealised vision of nature and how in nature everything is going to be lovely and wonderful, but then in reality the outside world still follows them in,” adds Camille.

“The biggest way it unravels is that each of them has a secret that comes out during the course of the journey.

“They’re all engaged at the same time to be married to different people, but as the play goes on, you realise that maybe not everything is as it seems. Maybe they’re not all actually engaged to be married.

“I think some of them are hoping that this journey is going to make everything rose-tinted and lovely but their tensions still come out, even though they’re on this trip.

“The difference is they can’t get away from each other because they’re stuck on this boat together.”

Camille started out in comedy sketch groups, going to do shows at the Edinburgh Fringe.

“I also write a lot and then like lots of actors and writers I have my finger in lots of different pies and one of them is writing a lot for kids’ telly. I’ve done Jojo and Gran Gran, Supertato and Thomas the Tank Engine,” she says.

“I grew up in Woodley, Reading and I live in London now.

“It’s a funny place, Reading, I feel like growing up it was so close to London but I felt so far away from London. It’s much nicer now, I think.”

Much like Jerome, Camille has taken inspiration from the River Thames.

“I had friends at school that used to work at Henley Royal Regatta, I feel like Henley is somewhere we always used to go if we wanted a posh day out. I have got fond memories of going to the Pizza Express in Henley, going for afternoon tea, going for a lovely walk along the river. It’s a lovely place to be, it’s somewhere that, growing up, we always used to go there for a little day trip.

“There are a few nods to the book, some little set pieces that I have reimagined to put in the story.

“It’s a comedy and it’s exploring the love-hate relationship that you get in families and how one minute you can be making each other laugh, the next minute you want to push them in the river.”

l Three Hens in a Boat is at Reading Rep Theatre in King’s Road, Reading, from Thursday, May 1 to Saturday, May 17 at 7.30pm (with Saturday matinées at 3pm). Tickets cost from £15 to £23.50. For more information, call the box office on 0118 370 2620, email boxoffice@readingrep.com or visit www.readingrep.com

Then from Thursday, May 22 to Saturday, June 7, the production will be shown at the Watermill Theatre in Bagnor, near Newbury, at 7.30pm with Thursday and Saturday matinées at 2.30pm. Tickets cost from £15. For more information, call the box office on 01635 46044, email boxoffice@watermill.org.uk or visit www.watermill.org.uk