Vicar of Dibley

When people hear 'The Vicar of Dibley' the first thing that they think of is the extremely funny television programme, that has been a part of many of their lives. To take on an adapted stage version of this is no mean feat. The TV show had a whole range of bold characters that any cast needs to live up to in addition to ensuring there is an abundance of comedy. But take it on, Pilkington Musical Theatre Company did. Delivering comedy by the bucket full. 

The show was well cast and every member suited the role they played. The society had managed to incorporate a good range of ages within the production. It is nice to see some younger members involved in drama pieces as it isn’t all that common in community theatre. They also were cast well to play parts which showed their broad capabilities. The persona of each cast member varied dramatically, each reflecting the television personalities that we have grown to love, fulfilling the audience’s expectation to see them. This enabled them to relive some of the on screen moments involving the very well known and loved Dibley folk from the television programme.

As is needed in this play, the comedy was brought to the forefront provoking the required laughs from the audience. The scene where Alice declared ‘David Horton’ was her father, created the right emotions of awkwardness with Geraldine. The casts acted this section superbly with great mannerisms and facial expressions. These initial emotions were followed by the immense relief that it wasn’t the ‘David Horton’ the Vicar was thinking. This whole scene was ridiculously funny, purely due to the quality of acting that was displayed on stage. This was one of our favourite scenes in whole the play.

The costumes were very well fitted and helped build the character parts. The only thing that was possibly amiss was Geraldine’s entrance, as her dog collar could still be seen showing everyone she was the vicar. This meant the dialogue and scene didn’t have its required impact as they were talking as if they couldn’t see it when it was clearly visible. The addition of a simple scarf could have ensured this scene fitted the storyline better. As well as this, the vicars ‘interesting choice in jumpers’ didn’t live up to our expectations. The show was extremely slick and polished with set changes done at a fast pace. The volume of dialogue was good, the whole cast projected well meaning it was never a struggle to hear any lines which is vital to ensure the comedy of the script is portrayed to the audience.

 The staging was well thought out and was of a good standard. In particular the bouquet catching scene where the entire male cast stepped back in perfect synchrony was very well choreographed and worked fantastically. The small stage and floor space, that this venue has, was used to it full potential and helped make the scenes appear to be in different locations strengthing the narative.

Sound effects were well used throughout, although on occasion they were missed or late. However, the cast should be commended for their quick wit and improvisiation, as they did a great job of working around these and incorporating the issues into the play, adding to the comedy value. The lighting was a little primitive with limited variation, it bleached the stage with no colour variation and the distractions of being in a functional social club were prominent. People in other rooms were cheering at the sports game being played as well as very squeaky back stage doors and lights bleeding trough the bar area. These were all distracting for both auidence and cast but they did an excellent job of working though. These few issues could be forgiven and were much outweighed by the very well rehearsed humourious performances on stage. 

We would like to take this opportunity to thank the society for their kind invitation to this well put together and funny show.  We also would like to wish them well for their forth coming musical production of 'Annie' later this year. 

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