The Vicar of Dibley Christmas: The Second Coming
Written by Ian Gower and Paul Carpenter
Presented by Amdram Musical Theatre Whanganui
Directed by Chris McKenzie
Was it really two and a half years ago that a strong Amdram cast gave us a successful run of The Vicar of Dibley?
Those who saw it, and
many who heard about it, would have been keen to get back to Amdram for the second helping, The Vicar of Dibley Christmas: The Second Coming.
Once again, it was staged in the Amdram hall where the audience were seated at tables, with drinks and platters before them. The bar was open and the theatre was set for an evening of fun.
The stage was divided into the vestry room and the vicarage, so scenery changes were minimal and unobtrusive. Of course, Maddi McKenzie's swift lighting adjustments and a fleet-footed backstage crew helped.
The play was blessed with the same cast as in June 2019 PC (pre-Covid); after all, if it ain't broke ...
Jayne Fields returned as Geraldine Granger, the vicar of the sleepy hamlet of Dibley. She made the role her own, playing the vicar with a raunchy past and a craving for chocolate with flair and complete credibility. She was surrounded by an accomplished set of players, most with another 30-odd months of stagecraft and experience under their belts since they first trod the Dibley boards. To see them slip back into their roles meant there was hardly any work required by the audience — we believed they were those characters.
Tori Whibley was back as Alice Tinker: naive, gullible, and now married to Hugo Horton (Heath McKenzie). Both have grown into their roles nicely, and Alice did a little extra growing throughout the evening, as she discovered she was pregnant. Her deadpan delivery and lack of comprehension of the vicar's humour was nicely understated, with the odd touch of drama thrown in to round out the character.
Heath's Hugo had energy, silliness, plus that extra something that helped make him and Alice a team. Together, they made credulity most becoming, but Hugo was also able to show a glimmer of steel in a confrontation with their opposition.
That opposing "team" was Hugo's father, David Horton, played with superb grumpiness by Colin McKinney. To keep a straight face while all around you are laughing takes some skill, and to keep up his barrage of anti-Alice potshots with sincerity was a delight to see.
Joan Street is a superb actress, we know that, and it was confirmed with her return to the stage as Letitia Cropley. The vestry meetings were spiced up nicely by Joan and it wasn't always because of the character's unique cooking skills and varied use of flavours and ingredients.
Seated alongside at the Parish Council table was real-life husband Mike Street, who played the previously boring minute taker, Frank Pickle. But Frank chose a radio show broadcast to all of Dibley to reveal an intimate piece of information, but no one was listening. So, to see him, still boring, but in the most amazing outfits from then on, gave us plenty of laughs - at him, and also at the others who didn't seem to get it, or even notice. Some of his lines reflected the new Frank, and were hilarious. Mike played the part beautifully, but then, he would,
Ian Jones has had many roles on stage in Whanganui, but his Jim Trott must be a highlight. He was completely relaxed in the part, revelled in the unique dialogue and Jim Trott phrasing, and later presented himself to the cast and audience as we have never seen him on stage, ever (as far as I know). It is a sight we'll find difficult to forget, as hard as we may try.
Back to Dibley as the unforgettable Owen Hewitt was Patrick McKenna, former bookshop proprietor and accomplished thespian. Owen's outrageous sexual suggestions and observations, mostly to the vicar, seemed entirely natural and while the audience laughed, the rest of the cast took it in their stride, as they should. He obviously relished the role.
Those were the main roles, but there were others that supported the structure, like the veterinarian (Zach McKenzie) who was handy with a pair of tongs at the nativity furore, and Lottie Fields and Portia Ryley-Curtis who were perfect angels in that final scene. Also fleshing out the numbers on stage were Jayden Fergusson and Daniel Smith, completely believable in their roles in the play within a play at the end.
The nativity scene, as presented by and for the village of Dibley, had us in fits, with visual and verbal slapstick and an ending that came as no surprise but was still able to get a lot of laughs.
It's one of those productions in which everything just comes together, from the action on stage to all the things that make it happen.
Of course, "making it happen" was the guiding hand of director Chris McKenzie.
Acknowledgment must be made of Carol Teutscher's artwork for the nativity scene backdrop, which took place "outdoors" on Owen Hewitt's farm. That painting was a beautiful piece of work.
The set, the costumes, props, sound, lighting and general arrangement of the theatre is all a result of hard yakka and many voluntary hours of expertise and labour, of which the latter was plainly obvious in the final scene (pun intended). Productions like this take a team of dedicated and skilled people: they did well and it paid off.