Warren Carlyle will direct a rehearsed presentation of the new gothic thriller For the Love of Miss Lucy at Underbelly Boulevard Soho on 1 October. The production features Victoria Smurfit and Jeremy Swift in a world premiere workshop that blends gothic suspense with comedy.

The rehearsed presentation of For the Love of Miss Lucy is set for 1 October at Underbelly Boulevard Soho, with two showings at 11am and 2pm for an invited audience of investors, agents, and creatives. Warren Carlyle, known for his Tony-winning choreography and direction of shows such as The Music Man and Hello, Dolly!, will lead the workshop. The script is written by Mary Lynn Dobson.

The play is a gothic thriller set in a 1920s English sanitarium where Lucy Seward suddenly falls gravely ill following the arrival of a mysterious Count. Her brother, Dr Seward, calls in Professor Abraham Van Helsing to investigate a strange affliction affecting the sanitarium’s residents. The story draws on Dracula mythology but is presented with a comedic tone inspired by Noël Coward.

The cast includes Victoria Smurfit as Lucy Seward and Jeremy Swift as Professor Van Helsing. Other cast members are Sally Rogers as Nurse, Harry Peacock as Jonathan Harker, Luke Rollason as Renfield, Bailey Patrick as Beetleston, and Stephen Boxer as Graves. Smurfit is known for her role in the Disney+ series Rivals, while Swift has appeared in Ted Lasso and Downton Abbey.

The creative team also features casting director Rob Kelly, producer James FitzSimmons for Black Irish Productions, and executive producer and general manager Thomas Hopkins for Thomas Hopkins Productions. Rehearsals begin on 24 September ahead of the October presentation.

This workshop format serves as a platform to showcase the play’s potential to industry insiders, focusing on key dramatic and comedic elements. The combination of period atmosphere with gothic and comedic influences marks a distinctive approach to horror-inspired theatre.