The Vicar of Dibley: The Second Coming

SDC excelled themselves in bringing Dibley to Dorset, welcoming us into the Vicarage and the Parish Hall, as they planned the Dibley Christmas Nativity show.  The set was deceptively simple, with its 50/50 division of the stage, and the hall, with its folding tables, notice boards and posters was extremely familiar to anyone in a rural parish, as was the cosy Vicarage sitting room.  The use of a painted mid-stage cloth took us instantly to the stable.   

Costumes were traditional, quirky or outrageous, as the characters demanded: Geraldine’s array of eye-catching jackets; Frank’s transition from tweedy to pink; Hugo’s ties; Letitia’s catering outfit; Jim’s Billie-Jean King audition gear; David’s Herod and Owen’s transformation from kinky farmer to Elvis the Pelvis; the lively camel; all benefited greatly from the attentions of the wardrobe department.  

Accents were exactly right, and there were some excellent characterisations, taking what they needed from the television actors and adding their own flair: Geraldine found her own way into the character, a difficult job well done without the benefit of camera close-ups and edited highlights;  David Horton was as haughty and disapproving on the outside as he was tender on the inside, his facial expressions telling us more than the text could ever do; the lovable Hugo was the nice-but-dim toff, building a goofy relationship with Alice; Letitia was under-represented in the script, but nonetheless we discovered the kindly and eccentric old woman with her shapeless knitting and exotic culinary skills; the hilarious and likeable Jim was slow of thought, his restless, pattering gait perfectly portrayed; Frank was charmingly dull, so that although he bores the other Dibley characters, we find him immensely appealing; the excellent Owen relished his own repulsiveness, so that we laughed and shrank from him by turns; Alice could not have been better-played, her accent, mannerisms and vacant expression can be copied from the original, but it takes real skill to inhabit and animate the character despite her stupidity (Alice’s, that is), so that the warmth and depth of her personality are balanced with her simplicity and the humorous script - this Alice could never be simply dismissed by the audience as the village idiot.

The standard of sound and lighting moved up a gear in this production, with rolling thunder and lightning flashes building atmosphere to open the show.  Music was well-chosen to cover the many scene changes (so much easier in a television studio) and the audience enjoyed the carol-singing of the young village choir, in their Nativity costumes and assorted Wellington boots.

Direction was strong, creating the atmosphere of a small village community, mastering the comedy of the final scene, taking advantage of the opportunities to provide background action while the dialogue continued downstage: the effects of Letitia’s salmon and jam sandwiches spring immediately to mind.

An extremely entertaining production, of which you can be justly proud: congratulations to you all.

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