The Marine Players will be staging A Tomb With A View in Lyme Regis.

Midweek Herald: Steve Miller. Picture: Marine TheatreSteve Miller. Picture: Marine Theatre (Image: Archant)

Jam-packed with hilarious characters, 'A Tomb With A View' is a wickedly comic play that depicts a family embroiled in inheritance conflicts.

The director is Steve Miller, who works as a lighting technician at the Marine Theatre. He has worked as either a director or technician with dozens of huge names including Harold Pinter, Matthew Bourne, Lee Evans, and Carlos Acosta.

He came to the Marine Theatre in Lyme Regis four years ago.

It is being staged by the Marine Players this month in Lyme Regis. The play, which is set in a deeply sinister old library that would not look out of place in Dracula's castle, is looked over by the omniscient portrait of a grim faced, mad-eyed, and unnerving old man.

Written by Norman Robbins, the play's characters make up a strange family: one has werewolf tendencies, another wears Julius Caesar's toga, and an unsuspecting 'gentle' old lady plants more than just seeds in her flower beds. By the final act there are more corpses on stage than the living.

The Marine Players is a local group of experienced talented performers. Formerly known as the Lyme Regis Dramatic Society, the Marine Players came together at the beginning of 2016 and have staged successful productions including A Christmas Carol, Ghost Train and Local Affairs.

Steve has directed more than 50 professional plays and brings 34 years of technical experience to shed new light on the play in his amateur dramatic directorial debut.

With an international career—including on West-End productions such as Les Miserables, Cats, and The Fix - Steve has worked on more than 400 professional shows and a smattering of films (even daring to feature in one himself).

A fountain of stage anecdotes, Steve alludes to tales from 'too many venues, jobs, and people to talk about' but, tragically, they are 'too rude to actually tell' so for now the only giveaway is a wry smile and a raised eyebrow.

The play is currently in rehearsals and is an exciting exploration for Steve: "It's great fun, I'm learning new skills in interpretation. Like trying to tell an actor how to be a sexy diva, while not making the chap she is doing it too embarrassed".

The performance promises twists, turns, and a heavy dose of comedy.

The Marine Players present: A Tomb with a View from Wednesday, October 23 to Saturday, October 26.

Tickets are £12 for adults, £6 for under 18s.

There is a 10 per cent discount for members of the theatre.