Marina Theatre, Lowestoft
> Marina Theatre, Lowestoft
This solo adaptation by Rodney Bewes - best known for his role as Bob Ferris in the Likely Lads during the mid-Sixties - of Jerome K Jerome's Three Men In A Boat is a little gem.
His minimalist set of comfy captain's chair and sidetable, including an original Edwardian 24ft polished-wood skiff and a stuffed dog, sets the scene nicely as Bewes plays Jerome and his companions - George Wingrave and William Samuel Harris - as they take to the river in an effort to carry out doctor's orders.
Jerome is a victim of hypochondria, believing he has every ailment under the sun bar housemaid's knee!
After Jerome's doctor prescribes beefsteak and beer every six hours and tells him to keep his nose out of things he doesn't understand, his friend George decides that, as they all feel under the weather, the best way to help them feel better would be a long trip up the river.
Travelling up the Thames, stopping at every village and lock, we join the three men and Montmorency the dog in the japes, scrapes and narrow escapes of their journey.
Bewes' adaptation borders on the bizarre, was slightly anarchic but above all thoroughly enjoyable.
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