The Vicar of Dibley

Cast entered the ‘Church Hall’ through the auditorium. The play touring to local villages with a three night stop over at the Tacchi Morris to good houses was presented in the theatre auditorium with 3 scenes set across the front of the stage the hall being stage left, Vicarage or Horton household centre and the Horton study or Church interior stage right. Settings were clear and simple with appropriate set dressing, transitions were made through a blackout and it was unclear if this was due to it being originally set for the smaller venues as this could be thought of as unnecessary at the Tacchi.
On his first directors outing Mark had approached the sketches which original were part of the TV series by Richard Curtis with sensitivity, although a number of the characters were very close to those we grew to love during the TV episodes he had encouraged the actors to develop their own approach, a sensible concept as otherwise it all can become an impersonation instead of a characterisation. The series was written as a vehicle for Dawn French in the role of Geraldine Granger the Vicar of Dibley ; Curtis wrote the character using French’s comedy styling and comic timing. Our Vicar certainly looked the part and played her with her own nuances, and a very good job of it she did to but those cheeky silences and little looks were missing, so sometimes the comedy missed the moment, no fault of our Geraldine just experience of working the audience required and on her first proper outing in a play she did a fantastic job with such a challenging pair of shoes to fill. Alice on the other hand is experienced and together they made a stand for the comic ladies, body language and facial expressions from Alice had us all giggling but the wig wasn’t helpful as it took away her reality. David Horton, again an experienced thespian created his own takes on the self-aware Chairman of the Parish Council and he certainly was the glue holding the committee together. Much laughter was created by Jim, who was closest to the TV persona than anyone else which worked as it kept the gravitas of the piece. Some scenes stick in the memory, Frank’s disclosure was beautifully staged and sensitively approached, Hugo and Alice’s first experiences of snogging was hysterical and the Disney scene worked really well. A real challenge that pleased and engaged the audience, well done to all concerned.

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