Camille Ucan, Verona Rose and Ellen O’Grady to Star in THREE HENS IN A BOAT World Premiere

Reading Rep Theatre and the Watermill Theatre have revealed the full cast for the world premiere of Camille Ucan’s debut play, Three Hens in a Boat -  a bold, laugh-out-loud comedy with heart and family truths at the centre of its storytelling. 

Lovingly Inspired by the literary classic ‘Three Men in a Boat’, this new production charts the twist and turns of intergenerational family dynamics on a hen do with a difference.  Navigating the River Thames from Kingston to Henley and almost all the way down the aisle, Claudette, Gloria and Jay’s well-intentioned family outing soon devolves into a series of hilarious misadventures.

This fresh, female-led adaptation takes the text and flips it on its head, promising a riotous yet deeply touching exploration of family relationships and the importance of speaking your truth.  Three Hens in a Boat captures the essence of what bonds a family together – humour, forgiveness and unconditional love.

Making her bold playwriting debut, Camille Ucan will also take on the role of Jay in this production. Camille is best known for her hilarious performances in Tom Basden’s BBC comedy Here We Go and is a series regular in Alex Horne’s CH4 series The Horne Section.

Camille will be joined by Verona Rose as Gloria and Ellen O’Grady as Claudette.

Verona Rose is a comedy writer performer who is best known for BBC Three Threesomes series Fully Blown, nominated for a Broadcast Digital Award 2020. Verona stars and writes for the latest series Top Boy on Netflix and appears in new DAVE comedy Sneakerhead. She is also known for Horrible Histories (BBC), Sparks (CH4), Girls Go Trolling (CH4). More recently, she can be seen in Channel 4’s The Pharmacy.

Ellen O’Grady has worked in a variety of theatre productions including television, commercial and feature film. Ellen has toured America in Black Heroes in the Hall of Fame. Ellen played Sarragina in the original cast of the musical Nine at The Royal Festival Hall and is featured on the show’s cast recording. Ellen’s theatre credits also include the Olivier Award-nominated revival of Porgy & Bess at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, Dionne in the European tour of Hair, Louise in Four Figures with Harlequin at Royal Opera House and Morgan Le Fey in Camelot at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre.

This production marks a long-awaited new collaboration between the two award-winning Berkshire theatres, with the production running at Reading Rep Theatre from 1-17 May and the Watermill Theatre in Newbury from 22 May–7 June.  

This production marks a major milestone for Reading Rep Theatre, reinforcing its status as a powerhouse of new writing and regional storytelling. Following its critically acclaimed productions ‘The Maids’ and ‘Jekyll and Hyde’, Reading Rep is fast becoming one of the UK’s most dynamic and forward-thinking theatres.

Lauryn Redding, known for her award-winning debut gig-musical Bloody Elle and starring in the West End transfer of the Olivier Award-winning musical Standing At The Sky’s Edge, will compose the score for the production. 

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