VICAR OF DIBLEY

Vicar of Dibley is an iconic TV programme, and we were treated to some good performances from the cast.  I was delighted to see that although there were nods to the original characters, and they were all recognisable, they weren’t direct impersonations, something difficult to achieve, but which worked well.

It was a very long evening, on one of the hottest days this year, but we had been forewarned, which helped!  However, looking at it from an audience point of view, I felt that with certain tweaks the running time could have been cut.  For example, not every scene needed to be performed centre stage, and indeed I have seen this play performed on a small stage with side by side on-stage sets, just designated by lighting – that might be a consideration for future productions of this type.  Not easy do by any manner of means, and I was impressed by the slickness of the stage crew – six of them plus the SM to manage 40+ scene changes, however it did mean that the flow was broken and the audience’s attention wandered a bit.

Lighting and sound was entirely suitable for the play, and costumes looked in keeping with general feel of the piece.

Joanna Holt (Geraldine) created a good character, I thought she acquitted herself well in her first outing with TADS, nicely achieved.

Bryony Reynolds (Alice) showed her versatility in the part, creating the charming but slightly ditzy person.  A good pairing with Hugo – played by Jonathan Goodson as the rather diffident son, but it was good to see how he succumbed to Alice’s charms and defied his father.

Barry Pain (David Horton) got the autocratic male well, showing his assumed authority over the Parish and his son, a good portrayal.

Andrew Mayze (Owen Newitt) gave us the ebullience and very down to earth man, having some of the most funny and succinct lines – nicely done.

Alan Purton (Frank Pickle) – what a nice part to play – the gentle, slightly vague secretary, who came into his own with his revelation on the radio.  I enjoyed his portrayal.

Mark Palmer (Jim Trott) – another first timer at TADS, not a lot to say, as we know, but delivered with energy and a certain sense of fun.

Karen Stevens (Letitia Cropley) looked the epitome of the lady who knitted her way through meetings, and delivered some telling dialogue.  Lovely to see Karen on stage.

The final cast member was Alaina Hounslow who fulfilled all the additional roles with enthusiasm, which added to the general energy of the play.

All in all a good evening’s entertainment – perhaps a little more attention to the technicalities of making a long play shorter, but that did not detract from the general enjoyment and appreciation of the cast.  My thanks as always to TADS for their undoubted and appreciated hospitality.

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