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The Henry Lawson Theatre has opened its 2023 season with one of the most popular British comedies from the 90’s. Adapted from the 1990s TV comedy, THE VICAR OF DIBLEY is set in the village of Dibley, where the local vicar has just died and the parish council members, led by their pompous, opinionated chairman David Horton (Aurel Vasilescu), are waiting to greet his replacement. The show is written by Ian Gower and Paul Carpenter adapted from the original TV series by Richard Curtis (who also wrote Love Actually) and Paul Mayhew-Archer The play is taken from the first two seasons of the popular series.
The opening scene in the Parish Hall has the Parish Councillors seated around trestle tables with ‘the Lord is my Shepherd’ poster looking down on them, and stained glass window setting the Anglican scene. The Councilors are an eccentric gaggle of parochial yokels! Scuttle butt appears to be their main agenda item – for example, Dibley hosting the Olympics! ‘a mere tit short of an udder!’
Frank Pickle takes the minutes and gets into a hell of a pickle mingling literal with future tense. Frank cites such enthralling local events as marrow throwing competitions. These parochial yokels eagerly anticipate the arrival of their new Vicar who, to their utter chagrin, is a woman, Geraldine – or ‘Gerry’ in her common parlance! The Parish Councillors believe that a woman Vicar is ‘some sort of insane joke’ instigated by their Bishop.
Vicar Geraldine’s grand entrance to her new Vicarage is heralded by Alice Tinker her extraordinary Verger who struggles with the new Vicar’s excessive luggage. Alas, this is not all that Alice struggles with:- she is neuro-diverse with bizarre cognitive and linguistic dyslexia. Her ditzy speech patterns and bewildering cognizance are traditionally interpreted that ‘Alice is daft’ or ‘thick as two planks’ or as David Horton says in the play ‘Alice has the intellect and charm of a cactus.’ Sadly, these derogatory stereo-types form the basis of the source of her humorous character. The comical bonding of Verger Alice and Vicar Gerri form an awkward but shambolic alliance that provides great audience amusement. So, Alice the Verger is an entertaining ‘giggling Gerty’ whilst Vicar Gerri is desperately trying to play the role of Vicar and pops a portrait of Jesus on her mantle to the right of an Art Deco clock.
Vicar Gerri’s relationship with JC oscillates from irreverence to blasphemous to tender quotations from the bible, to succor the alas, disobedient – even juvenile children. Geraldine, more than partial to abundant confectionaries, scatters her creature comforts under sofa cushions. Chocolate bars ‘are my old friends’ declares Gerri but ‘coffee is the broth of Satan.’ The Bishop phones the not so hapless Vicar of Dibley who proposes her transfer to missionary work in Liverpool – Vicar Gerri outrageously responds ‘Yes Bishop I love all things missionary!’
This production has been sensitively directed by Rhonda Hancock. The confident performance of the village children assures their theatrical future. All of the Cast performed the eccentric characters of Dibley with sincerity and confidence. The stand-outs would have to be Nicole Madden who played the elusive yet definitive Geraldine Granger and Holly-Leigh Prophet who superbly played the complex and amusing role of Alice Tinker.
THE VICAR OF DIBLEY is playing the Henry Lawson Theatre in Werrington County until March 18, 2023. Tickets: from $20. bTickets are available online at https://www.trybooking.com/CCVWE or by calling 0448 011 370
Featured image : Aurel Vasilescu as David Horton. Production photography by Rebecca Fletcher and Aurel Vasilescu