The Vicar of Dibley

One of the potential hazards in setting out to emulate a popular television series is that the audience already has clear, pre-conceived ideas of what it expects to see, and any shortcoming in reproducing those familiar TV images will disappoint, almost regardless of the quality of the production in all other respects.

Well, potentially hazardous it may be, but a problem it certainly was not for the Swanage players.  In every case, their characterisations of those well-known personalities were excellent – instantly recognisable and scrupulously maintained throughout the performance.  As a consequence, the near-capacity house enjoyed a highly entertaining evening.

Without doubt, much study and hard work had been applied to the task of capturing the finer points of the fictional characters, all eight of whom were unmistakably portrayed.  As such, it is perhaps a little unfair to single out any one of them, but I felt that Victoria Jones’ delightful interpretation of the dim-witted Alice was worthy of special mention.  Characterisations apart, the play moved along at a cracking pace, and the best was made of the humour in the dialogue – all credit to director Pat Jones for that.

The episodic nature of the action, as it alternates between the Parish Hall and the Vicarage in some twenty-three separate scenes is easily done on television but poses much more of a problem for the live stage.  However, this was managed very effectively by means of a set that depicted both venues side-by-side on stage, with lighting applied only to that location in which action was taking place whilst the other remained in darkness.  Inevitably, there were quite a few blackouts at time of scene change, but they did not interfere unduly with the continuity and momentum of the play.

This was another creditable production from Swanage Drama Company who seem to be building a local reputation for themselves as purveyors of comedy.

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