Lending a hand: Joe Tuppenny with Janet Withers, who plays Amanda in The Basin Theatre's production of Over My Dead Body.
THE final show of the year for The Basin Theatre promises humour and life lessons.
Over My Dead Body is directed by theatre stalwart Joe Tuppenney who has been a part of the The Basin Theatre for more than 15 years.
He started his career on stage but decided to make the big switch to directing and enjoying the magic from behind the scenes. It has freed him from the onerous task of learning lines. Now, he can even read a novel at night, instead of committing the words of others to memory.
While he misses the buzz of performing and the interaction with the audience, there is that one element of acting he doesn't yearn for anymore.
"I was terrible at learning my lines — I was just never that great," he laughed.
Tuppenney directed the closing show last year for The Basin Theatre, Jigsaws, and was rewarded with the same gig for this year and next. The group performs four shows a year.
Over My Dead Body is a comedy about a man named Gerald whose wife, Helen, has just died. While he hopes to spend the rest of his days alone with his memories while avoiding the cooking of his daughter and the awkwardness of his son-in-law, his late wife has other ideas.
Women start turning up unexpectedly from his past and present, and it soon becomes clear to Gerald that Helen has gone to great lengths to ensure he would not be alone in his last years.
He, his daughter and son-in-law have to come up with a plan before things get out of hand.
Tuppenney said he thought the play would appeal to a wide-range of people because of the humour.
"It's not slapstick but you definitely get a laugh. And it's not a tear-jerker but it definitely has its moments," he said.
The six cast members have been rehearsing three times a week since the start of September.
Tuppenney also designed the set himself — an English drawing room — and had help from other theatre members to build it.
"The great thing about The Basin Theatre is that everyone lends a hand," he said.
Opening night is on Friday, November 9 and it continues Thursday to Saturday nights and a Sunday matinee until December 1.
Tickets are $22 and include parking, refreshments and a programme. Details: thebasintheatre.org.au.