The Vicar of Dibley

This stage adaptation by Ian Gower and Paul Carpenter brings together a selection of extracts from the best episodes of this multi-award-winning show by Richard Curtis and Paul Mayhew Archer. When the new vicar arrives at the sleepy English village of Dibley, the last thing the locals are expecting is a woman, ‘She has to go!’  But the irrepressibly cheerful Reverend Geraldine Granger soon wins over the hearts and minds of her flock.  All your favourites were here: Alice, David, Frank, Hugo, Jim, Letitia and Owen ..plus unforgettable lines, quotes and sketches such as: ‘When he kisses me, I get all goose-pimply like a great big pimply goose’ or ‘You know that stuff they’re selling at the local shop, I can’t believe it’s not butter’ or when Jim misplaces the wedding rings and they use ‘Hula Hoops’ instead: so just sit back and wait for the mayhem to unfold!

When you decide to present something like ‘The Vicar of Dibley’, a much-loved BBC Sitcom one, if not the biggest dilemma to be faced is, ‘Do the cast try and mimic the television actors; will the audience expect carbon copies’ or ‘Should we try and bring something new - but if we do - will the characters be recognisable’?  Well, from the opening hymn - ‘The Lord is my Shepherd’ to the ‘final’ word ‘Stay’; I do believe that Mark Howard (Director) and his cast got those decisions just right! 

So, having made that difficult decision, St Ambrose where then hit with another major decision!  What happens when one of your cast is taken ill on ‘show night’; no understudies here!  Lukas Bennett should have played the role of Owen Nesbitt but he fell ill. (Can I take the opportunity to wish Lukas a ‘speedy recovery’). On the night I attended, ‘reading in’ for Lukas was the Director, Mark Howard who did a sterling job - well done, sir! 

The principle cast were ‘totally believable’ creating some excellent characters.

The ‘coveted role’ of the Vicar Geraldine Granger was placed in the capable hands of Leonie English, who donned a ‘shiny black wig’ and was a ‘perfect fit for the part!’ Confident, great diction, comic timing in abundance, be ever so proud!

Paul James gave an accomplished performance as ‘Jim ‘No No No No - Yes’ Trott’.  Great Comic timing, mannerisms and facial expressions aplenty, never out of character and the use of ‘Jim’s catchphrase’ was never over played, which I imagine can be a temptation... well done!  ‘Frank Pickle’ probably the most boring Parish Council Secretary ever, was convincingly played by Tony Stevens.  Good characterisation, really ‘boring’ in a good way...again well done!   The lovely ‘Letitia Cropley’ church organist, well known for her knitting and exotic recipes was well played by Dot Pilkington.  Again, totally believable, a perfect fit for the role - well done!

Matt Clark looked totally comfortable in the role of Chairman of the Parish Council, Pillar of the Community, ‘David Horton’. Matt was the ideal person to play ‘the straight man’ amidst all this mayhem. Never out of character, great diction, totally believable with stage presence aplenty. An excellent performance - well done!

Then we had Hugo Horton, David’s ‘love struck’ son played extremely well by Sean McLaughlin. Hugo, not the ‘brightest star in the sky’ is infatuated by ‘Alice Tinker’, our ‘simple minded, yet loveable’ Church Warden played by the ‘Star of the Show’ for me, Rebecca Moran. Individually brilliant, together outstanding!  The chemistry between them both was tangible, their comic timing superb, with facial expressions, mannerisms aplenty and faultless accents. You could just tell that they were loving every minute on stage.....OH YES – THE KISS which started in Act 1 and finished in Act 2 was a real ‘crowd pleaser’ - as was their wedding; beautifully choreographed with the Vicar and guests on the stage and the wedding party processing through the audience with Alice of course, outrageously dressed (complete with flashing headdress) and a gang of ‘Teletubbies’ in attendance.... be ever so proud, well done!

We had a number of ‘cameo roles’ - Kieron Alami, George Bamford, Ruby Bevan, Zander Bruce and Amy Walton doubled up as ‘Village Children and Telly Tubbies’ and Vikki Watson played a ‘woman’.

The play consisted of a great number of short scenes interspersed with blackouts which can create problems and slow a production down, but a ‘simple set’ which made best use of all the stage was divided into two (Vicarage and Village Hall) and with half lighting being used to transfer from one location to the other, this allowed  the play to flow really well. Congratulations to Graham Forrest (Stage Manager), Paul Gregson (Joint Set Designers), the Construction Team and Stage Crew (Loved the ease in which the set transformed into the Church for the Wedding). Well done folks, be ever so proud!

‘Costumes’ (Jean Lee and Kath Creer) and ‘Props’ (Pat Connor + Kirsty Chapman) were appropriate and in keeping with the period. Well done, ladies.   Lighting and Sound was good – congrats to Emily Whitehead and Stephen Porter respectively.

Thank you all so much for inviting my wife and I and thanks to David White for making us feel welcome.  Look forward to seeing you all again soon, and again, hope that Lukas is feeling better.

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