TheVicar of Dibley

 It is always a great pleasure for me to come and review a production by the “Theats” and lovely this time to see them tackling a comedy play!

“The Vicar of Dibley” is a stage play written by Ian Gower and Paul Carpenter and was adapted from the original TV series by Richard Curtis and Paul Mayhew-Archer. The TV series was aired from 1994 – 2007. The story is set in the fictional Oxfordshire village of Dibley which has been assigned a female vicar following the 1992 changes in the Church of England ( maybe they should bring the series back with Geraldine promoted to Bishop! )

The Vicar of Dibley has been expertly directed by Mark Walker. The casting was excellent and Mark has coached the actors with considerable skill enabling them all, without exception, to give very accurate portrayals of their characters. No mean feat considering how iconic the characters all are! Well done Mark.

Lynda Wilkin gave a wonderful performance in the role of Geraldine Granger. With great attention to detail and excellent comic timing she was outstanding. Vince Appleyard gave a very convincing portrayal as David Horton and he interacted well with all the other performers. Kate Clennett was brilliant in the role of the Alice Tinker the dippy housekeeper. She too had great timing and brought much warmth to the character though very occasionally her diction could have been a bit clearer. Jenny Bentley was very funny as Letitia Cropley and gave a really convincing performance in the role. Frazer Mitchell as Jim Trott gave in my opinion the performance of the evening, all the more remarkable when finding out that this was his very first time on the amateur stage! Well done Frazer! Lester Cooke gave a hysterical performance as Owen Newitt - I especially enjoyed his scenes with the vicar. Phil Mills gave a lovely performance as the hapless, love-struck Hugo Horton and his scenes with Alice Tinker were some of the funniest in the play. Well done Phil. I must not forget The Children of Dibley. Played by Maisey Chapman, Lily Cooke, Josh Taylor, Nathaniel Theodoulou and Carly Walker they were all delightful.

The sets, designed by Eric St John were excellent and full marks to all the stage crew, with more than twenty scene changes they did an excellent job. The changes were really slick and made sure the action flowed throughout the evening. The props were very good as were the costumes, wigs and makeup. The lighting and sound production was very good too.

The Kettering Theatrical Society should be very proud of this production it was hilariously funny and well received by the audience.

Thank you “ Theats “ for a wonderful evening’s entertainment, I thoroughly enjoyed myself and thank you too for the wonderful hospitality.

CAROLINE JERVIS                                                                                                                                                                            NODA EM DISTRICT 7 REPRESENTATIVE.   

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