Review - The Vicar of Dibley 2 - People's Theatre

Vicar of Dibley 2  

People's Theatre

19th July 2022

Knock, Knock?

Who’s There? 

Ronnie

Ronnie Who?

Ronnie Barker! 

Go on, you must admit it would be hilarious if Ronnie Barker was knocking at your door! Then again, more hilarious would be Alice Tinker-Horton with her ingenuous ability to take everything incredibly seriously and yet be – to coin a phrase – as nutty as a fruitcake. They can’t arrange to have Alice turn up at your door to bring a moment of surreal humour into your life, but The People’s Theatre have managed to get not just Alice, but the entire cast of the Vicar of Dibley into their theatre just around the corner… 

We took our seats to the sound of  The Wurzels playing softly in the background. The stage was set – one side instantly recognisable as the meeting room of the Dibley Parish Council, the other clearly the vicar’s front room. A large stained-glass window forms the backdrop separating the two halves. This ingeniously moves to make way for the other various venues required throughout the play (notably a local restaurant, and a speed dating club). 

The music plays – the lord is my shepherd; I shall not want – and the characters file in to take their seats for the Parish Council. They are all instantly recognisable – a credit to the casting and direction of Ian Willis. The attention to detail in everything from the set to the nuances of each of the cast’s characteristics ensures that every minute of this production is reassuringly and endearingly familiar. If you have a favourite Dibley character, rest assured, you will see the perfect embodiment of him, or her, on stage. 

I think British sit coms are so successful because they pick out and play upon the very particular idiosyncrasies and eccentricities of British people and British society. I doubt any other country is so capable of poking fun at themselves, without mercy, and yet with such affection.  

The People’s Theatre have once again successfully transferred a well-loved comedy from the small screen to the stage. This is a real feel-good production, it is funny – proper laugh out loud funny - and it has a belter of a musical number; it is heartfelt and hilarious. Indeed this is true of the entire production, of each and every performance, from the actors on stage to the supporting crew backstage.   

The Vicar of Dibley plays until 23rd July. Don’t miss it!   

*photo credit: Jess Chapman

Denise Sparrowhawk