InYourArea Community

Life at The Little Theatre column: A change of scenery as we head to Dibley

The Vicar of Dibley will run from April 29 - May 7.

Zainab Noor

InYourArea Community, Zainab Noor

— 2 min read
Share
Life at The Little Theatre column: A change of scenery as we head to Dibley

The Vicar of Dibley cast rehearsing

By Jennifer Corcoran and Andrew Sloman

In 1994, comedy screenwriter Richard Curtis had enjoyed a smash hit with Four Weddings and a Funeral and was turning his hand back to the small screen.   Another notable event of that year was Joy Carroll being ordained as the first female Priest by the Church of England.

As fate would have it, Carroll was able to assist Curtis as he developed the character of the Reverend Geraldine Granger.  She met with him and the delightful Dawn French who the part was being written for.

In November 1994, British television audiences were introduced to The Vicar of Dibley.  The show ran for four years and has been revived for specials. Our talented cast have assembled to bring four episodes to the stage for you this Spring.

The Arrival was the first episode of the first series and set the series up beautifully. When the 102-year-old vicar dies, the residents of Dibley eagerly await his replacement. A female vicar was not what they expected and has mixed reactions.

This will be followed by the second ever episode, Songs of Praise, where the crew of the popular show descend on Dibley and Geraldine catches the eye of the show’s producer.

After an interval, you can then enjoy the first two episodes of the second season, first shown over Christmas and New Year 1996/1997.

In The Engagement, Geraldine is playing cupid for Hugo and Alice. Although this initially goes well, it does not delight everyone in Dibley.

Dibley Live covers the celebrations for the 650thanniversary of the church. The villagers set up a radio station for a week and Geraldine holds a competition for the best DJ.

There are a holy host of familiar faces enjoying the experience of re-creating these well crafted characters and over the next couple of weeks we will be revealing the cast list.

The Vicar of Dibley episodes are being directed by Adrian Miles-Roberts and will be performed from Friday, April 29 to Saturday, May 7.

To book tickets for The Vicar of Dibley, or any other SDC show visit the Little Theatre website or call 01704 530521 from 11am to 1pm/two hours before curtain up when there is a performance.

For more information about our shows, our sublets and the club in general visit our website here. For updates, pictures, trivia and competitions follow us on Facebook or Instagram.

Get all the latest news, updates, things to do and more from Southport, Merseyside's dedicated InYourArea feed.

Read more