The Vicar of Dibley

There are two main issues that affect Societies producing stage versions of television comedies like Vicar of Dibley, Dads Army, Fawlty Towers etc.

First of all, the number of scenes – television can switch between multiple scenes instantly, which obviously can’t happen on stage. Secondly, audiences have expectations of the characters – how they look, sound and move. It’s a brave Director who tries to deviate from those expectations.

So, how did Knaresborough Players cope with these two issues in their production of The Vicar of Dibley? In a word, brilliantly!

This popular sitcom was first aired in 1994 and is known and loved by many. Every time I have seen Vicar of Dibley, including the version I directed,  it has been staged as three separate episodes but this was different. Whilst still using a number of episodes, they were very cleverly “merged” to create a full length play revolving around the romance and wedding of Hugo and Alice. By doing this, the Players resolved issue number 1 – the number of scenes. All the action (except Geraldine’s jokes) took place in just two places – the vicarage and the Parish Hall – utilising a very cleverly designed split stage. So, although there were over 20 separate scenes, the play smoothly transitioned between them and maintained the flow and pace of the play. So, full credit to the people who designed, built and dressed the set – Mike Addison, Keith McArthur, Phil Sims and Margaret Wild (props). I must also make a special mention to the “artists” who created the stunning stained glass window (Amanda Martin) and the much simpler, but effective, Parish Hall paintings (Aria Pickering).

So, what about the second issue - characterisation? If I say that, when Geraldine made her first entrance as the Vicar there was an audible gasp from the audience, does that answer the question. Played by Beth Martin, Geraldine was the epitome of Dawn French, the “babe with a bob”. She absolutely nailed the character, both visually and vocally. Beth had such amazing comic timing that was a joy to watch.

But she wasn’t on her own with her awesome characterisation – the loved up hopeless couple of Hugo Horton and Alice Tinker were played by (I presume) husband and wife, Phil and Katie Pickering. They must have spent hours studying their characters because every nuance, every skirt swish, every awkward movement was spot on. I was relieved to see from the programme that they were married otherwise the longest kiss I have ever seen on stage could have been really awkward. (It was that long it lasted through the interval)

What about Dan Brown as Jim Trott? Was he any good? No, no, no, no….yes. Again he must have studied his character so carefully to get it just right. And that is equally true of the rest of the Parish Council – David Horton, played by Colin Smith, came across perfectly as the bombastic Chair, just wanting to protect is hopeless son ; Frank Pickle, played by Ian Hagues, Letitia Cropley, played by Doreen Driffield, and Owen Newitt, played by Jocelyn Cook, all brought their own unique contributions to the rather chaotic Council meetings – Frank with his minutes, Letitia with her strange baking creations and Owen, with his gross habits. I can’t ignore, Jill Graham, who came on at the end, delivered a couple of lines and almost stole the show!

As a team, they all worked together worked to create an hilarious two hours.

Of course, it’s not just the actors on stage who are part of that team – accurate, well presented costumes (Brenda Anderson, Kathryn Leigh and Alana Sims), spot on (no pun intended) lighting and sound (John Pearce), the backstage team (Kenny Brown, Darren Roberts and Rachel Smart) and the lady I didn’t hear all afternoon, the prompt, Jemma Bunting.

I also want to mention the team of Kathryn Leigh, Mark Leigh and Sian Pearce, who created the programme, or rather the Dibley Parish News. What an imaginative creation.

The production team of Director, Kathryn Leigh, Producer, David Crosthwaite, and Stage Manager, Marie Chapman, should be extremely proud of this production. I hope the Society makes sure that Kathryn keeps directing and doesn’t “retire again”.

Thank you for a splendid afternoon and showing me round your wonderful theatre.

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.