Hen dos can be great fun, but they can also be a bit of a living nightmare. From the overactive group chats to the exorbitant costs and extravagant fantasies of the bride-to-be, hen dos aren’t always all they’re cracked up to be.
While most of us can probably relate to a hellish hen do, it’s fair to say that none of us have had the party turn into the literal end of the world. But that’s exactly what happens to bride Zara, whose girls’ weekend to a cottage in the countryside descends into an apocalyptic crisis.
Written by Hullraisers’ Caroline Moran, surreal comedy Henpocalypse! tells the story of what happens when a bunch of hens wake up in a Welsh holiday cottage having to face not only a horrific hangover, but the breakdown of human civilisation.
The female ensemble cast consists of The Responder’s Elizabeth Berrington as mother-of-the-bride Bernadette, We Are Lady Parts’ Lucie Shorthouse as demanding bride Zara, Cheaters’ Callie Cooke as chief bridesmaid Shelly, Lauren O’Rourke of White Gold as conspiracy theorist beautician Veena, and Everyone Else Burns’ Kate O’Flynn as Jen.
Let’s find out more from Shorthouse and Cooke ahead of the series’ launch on BBC Two.
FIRST OF ALL, CAN YOU TELL ME A BIT ABOUT YOUR CHARACTERS?
LS: I play Zara, who is the kind of bridezilla of the operation. They are the kind of reason they go off on this jolly encounter – they’re going off on a hen do.
I really enjoyed playing Zara actually, because she’s just so unapologetically self-absorbed [laughs]… It’s quite liberating playing a character who’s just so happy with herself, present with herself, and wants to be the centre of attention.
CC: I play Shelly, who is chief bridesmaid of the pack. She is bride Zara’s best friend, takes her responsibilities very seriously.
It was good for me to play someone quite- I mean, I don’t know if serious is the right word, because the show’s ridiculous! But she’s very earnest. Very loyal.
WHAT DID YOU LOVE ABOUT HENPOCALYPSE!?
LS: I loved the writing first of all, I think Caroline Moran’s done (an) incredible job. And also, I recognised these women – I’m from the Midlands myself, you know, I know those voices.
I recognised the heart and the warmth in these characters, even as wacky and silly as they can be, there’s still a lot of warmth and truth there… I really found the script so funny as well. And it was great to be part of a show that’s female-centric, and it’s written by women… it’s not necessarily just for women at all, but it felt great to have this sense of like, sisterhood.
CC: The first person I met was Holly Walsh, she directed our pilot, and I’m a huge fan of Motherland, so that was a major draw. And I think Caz’s writing was so funny… when I read it, I actually laughed out loud. How she comes up with some of that dialogue is mad, she’s just hilarious.
We’re all from the Midlands, which is very, in my opinion, underrepresented on screen. So to play this chaotic group of women, and to do a hen do as well – I mean, especially for our generation, we can just all relate to it so much.
Then to throw in the absolute madness of the world ending, it was just so much fun to do, and I thought: I’ll kick myself if I don’t do this because… whatever happens, it’s gonna be a wild ride. And it was so much fun to make.
THE HUMOUR IN THIS IS REALLY QUITE BIZARRE, AND IT’S NOT SOMETHING WE OFTEN SEE IN FEMALE-FRONTED SHOWS. WHAT DID YOU ENJOY ABOUT THIS?
LS: It was really, really fun. And like I said before, liberating. There was no vanity attached to it as well, especially in the apocalyptic scenes. It was great to just be like: we’re messy, and we’re embracing it.
CC: I work a lot in comedy, and I feel like there’s only a very set amount of stereotypes that you can play, and there’s no room to play with that.
And it’s such a shame, because I feel like the men can do whatever they like.
We were so lucky with Caz’s dialogue, and Jack and Holly’s direction, to just be able to just be completely ridiculous.
WHAT DID YOU ENJOY ABOUT THE COMBINATION OF THE HEN DO AND THE APOCALYPSE?
LS: I loved the hen do being so British. Obviously I love stuff like Bridesmaids, but it was just so British and very kind of Midlands identity. What was nice about the depiction of it is that it’s recognisable to home.
And the contrast of that with: this is the end of the world. And this is like a very serious thing. I think it’s just mad, I never would have put the two together.
But somehow, brilliantly, Caroline has made it work. But that’s the thing as well with the apocalypse is: yes, it’s a comedy, but when we’re playing these characters in this situation, it is the end of the world. It’s high stakes. How do we survive this? Is this it for us?
So although it starts off as this raucous affair, it then turns into an exercise into how tenacious and resourceful women can be in staying alive and getting shit done.
THE CAST IS SO FANTASTIC – HOW WAS IT WORKING TOGETHER?
CC: So lucky. I mean, you just never know how it’s gonna go. You throw a bunch of strangers together, and hope that they’ll fall in love. And we really did.
We all grew up within a few miles of each other. And I think we were just all like: we’re gonna give this everything, we’re gonna get stuck in, and we’re just gonna have a laugh with it. There wasn’t a day on set that wasn’t just completely silly and hilarious.
We love each other. The group chat is still thriving, to be honest.
THAT’S MORE THAN CAN BE SAID FOR MOST HEN DO GROUP CHATS…
CC: Real hen do group chats are horrendous!
Henpocalypse! starts on BBC Two at 10pm on Tuesday, August 15.
