The Vicar of Dibley

The Vicar of Dibley is held in such great affection by so many people that no synopsis of the story or indeed of the characters portrayed is required.  Indeed, the television series is held in so much affection that Tyldesley’s entire run was sold out before the play began – what an achievement – a five-night run sold out prior to opening night.  Many, many congratulations! So, I consider myself very fortunate to have been included in the audience for the opening night!

Being taken from a television series of course brings its own set of issues, one of which being the sheer number of scenes – 10 in Act 1 and 12 in Act 2, the majority being either in the Vicarage or in the Village Hall.  The crew worked so hard, and so effectively, efficiently and quietly to bring about all these changes – although I did wonder if a split set with appropriate lighting would have worked better?  The set looked really good and the incidental music was an excellent choice – people all around me were quietly singing the hymns with great enjoyment, so the inevitable loss of pace with so many scene changes was negligible and, in many cases, actually enjoyed.  

All the favourite characters from the series were brought to life, and as the play is adapted from the series so were many of the situations and jokes so in many cases the audience were laughing well before the ‘punch line’ with obvious anticipation, appreciation and enjoyment.   The only down-side for me was Geraldine’s ‘dog collar’ which could hardly be seen and so lost some of the visual impact and humour especially when removing her scarf in the opening scene. On the other side the appearance of Alice dressed for the wedding and the use of the auditorium as the aisle of the church brought spontaneous applause. 

The balancing act of giving the audience the exact copy of ‘what they saw on the box’ against allowing the director and cast some originality, development of character and interpretation is not an easy one to handle – however I think you got it just about right with some touches of originality but not enough to leave the audience feeling disappointed.

I am not going to mention any individual member of the cast as quite simply you were all were all excellent with good diction and some truly magnificent facial expressions.  You successfully brought to life all the characters we have come to love before our very eyes – No! No! No! YES, you did!   By doing so you created creating very many laugh out loud moments, which was hugely enjoyed and appreciated by myself and your capacity audience.

As Tyldesley Little Theatre is a new member of NODA – this was my first visit to their charming theatre – and I sincerely hope that it will not be my last – and, whilst thanking you for your warm welcome and hospitality, I also warmly welcome you to the NODA Family.   

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