The Vicar of Dibley

The Vicar of Dibley – set in a small Oxfordshire village this play derived from the hugely successful British sitcom of the late 1990s.  Brilliantly written scripts and well-acted episodes led to many awards. This performance by the Portsmouth Players was up there with the best.  A delightfully nostalgic evening was spent amongst the keen audience at the Society’s Barn Studio Theatre.

The open stage with excellent set dressing and props really set the scenes - the sitting room of the Vicarage and the meeting room in the village hall which were placed side by side and with subtle lighting changes moving the action from one to the other with ease.

The cast had multiple costumes changes which appeared to go with ease.  Every detail of the costumes had been considered with ‘over the top’ jumpers for Geraldine, the Vicar, ‘girlie’ outfits for Alice and smart country gent outfits for David Horton; indeed, all the characters were dressed most fittingly and of course not forgetting the ‘lit-up’ headdresses.

Miles Eden, the director who also played Jim Trott is to be generously applauded for his excellent direction and for bringing each and every character alive with all their various idiosyncrasies. All the members of the cast made a tremendous contribution to the production and whilst it is easy to highlight individuals on this occasion the emphasis should be on the incredible team that drew each and every morsel of humour out of the line.  The cast kept the audience in thrall throughout.

Thank you to the whole team for a very special evening of nostalgia and dramatic excellence.

Kay Rowan

SE Councillor

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