The Vicar of Dibley

The Vicar of Dibley was a BBC television sitcom created by Richard Curtis and Ian Groves and Paul Carpenter have adapted the scripts for this play. It was a brave decision by Chesterfield Operatic Society to not only perform a play for the first time but also to choose one about such an iconic character as the Vicar of Dibley which was irresistibly played by Dawn French and the series itself is so well known and loved. The next decision I would think was ‘do we put our own spin on it or try to emulate the original characters?’ Well, when you are lucky enough to find actors who are virtually carbon copies in looks (with a little help from wigs etc.) and who are able to imitate their behavioural nuances and foibles - well there is no decision to make and that was certainly the case here. As a lover of the TV series I didn’t know what to expect but I was absolutely in awe of what I witnessed. All the characters were so true to the original cast in every aspect it was really uncanny! The small stage was divided into two halves to depict the two locations of the play, the Village Hall and the vicar’s sitting room and kitchen. This proved to work extremely well as there were so many scenes, some of which were very small indeed, it enabled the flow of the play to proceed without much interruption. The vicar, The Reverend Geraldine Grainger, was originally played by Dawn French and not an easy act to follow, but Pauline Hindle was equal to the task. The vicar is the lynch-pin of the whole piece and Pauline was so impressive in this huge role managing to portray the exuberance, the warmth, the self indulgence, the comedy and the flippancy of the character superbly. Alison Doram was delightful as the naive, gullible and lovable Alice Tinker, the Verger. Her mannerisms, her great West Country accent and her girly shyness were all delivered exquisitely. Chris Heathcote epitomised David Horton, Chairman of the Parish Council perfectly whilst his dim witted but sweet natured son, Hugo Horton (madly in love with Alice) was sympathetically played by David Orange. Richard Leivers was outstanding as Jim Trott. His lines and ‘no, no, noes’ were delivered with perfect comic timing and his ‘best man speech’ was hilarious even the ‘vicar’couldn’t keep a straight face! As Owen Newitt, Heath Parkin splendidly managed to both repel and amuse with his audacious behaviour. The pedantic nature of Frank Pickle, the Council Secretary, was impeccably portrayed by Neil Yewman and Sue Siddall was splendid as the eccentric Letetia Cropley - I do hope she managed to finish whatever it was she was knitting! Three village children were charmingly played by Jake Allen, Ellie Mae Brown and Maisie Cook. I loved the wedding of Alice and Hugo it was beautifully set with the Vicar on the stage and the wedding party on the floor of the auditorium facing her awaiting the arrival of the bride, who came outrageously dressed with three ‘Teletubbies’ in attendance, down the aisle of the auditorium! The costumes and the many changes by some of the characters, were an integral part of the play helping to show the passage of time. Many congratulations to Karl Brennan in his first role as a Director, to the terrific cast and everyone involved in this excellent production. It certainly gets a ‘No, no, no...YES’ from me!  

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