Jerome, Harris and George with Montmorency the dog set off on a boating excursion on the Thames in a play based on the popular book by Jerome K. Jerome, Three Men in a Boat. Though the original book was written in 1889 and it has been the subject of theatre and film many times, it seems that the wandering lads’ comical adventures on the river are as chuckle- worthy today as yesterday.
Three Men in a Boat opens at the Heritage Playhouse on Thursday, Oct. 27 with a local cast and crew, presented by Four Heroes Productions. Director David Short found this charming comedy and saw it as a possible prequel to Heroes, a play the company previously performed in which three WWI veterans plan their escape from their retirement home with a concrete dog.
This play portrays a happier, younger trio. Jerome is performed by actor and the play’s producer, Mac Dodge. He’s the instigator of this journey, while George the banker (Tim Anderson) breaks free of his financial duties to join the other two. Harris (Bryan Carson) is always a few beats behind his colleagues and it falls to his lot to do much of the rowing. He gets his own back by singing a comic song that Jerome regards as embarrassing – but then Jerome doesn’t think much of George’s banjo playing either.
The trip is a bit of a shambles from the beginning: there’s no cheese allowed in the picnic hamper, much to Harris’s disgust, and the only way to get to Kingston-on-Thames, their starting point, is to bribe the driver of the Exeter mail train. The rambling lads spin yarns and play pranks on one another – thank goodness that Montmorency the dog has more sense and is articulate enough to narrate, though he speaks in a North Country accent. (David Short, the director, also doubles as Montmorency.) Richard Austin Borthwick is assistant director and Julia Dodge is stage manager. The set, though simple with the clutter of boating life, will have some clever visuals on the back curtains.
Four Heroes Productions will preview this comical play on Thursday, Oct. 27 at the Heritage Playhouse in a pay-what-you-can performance at 7:30 p.m. Additional shows are on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 28 and 29, both at 7:30 p.m. and a matinée on Sunday, Oct. 30 at 2 p.m. The show continues Nov. 3, 4 and 5 at 7:30 p.m. with a 2 p.m. matinée on Nov. 6. Tickets are $15 for students and seniors and $20 for all others, available at Laedeli and The Blackberry Shop in Gibsons and at www.eventbrite.ca
