REVIEW: The Vicar of Dibley, Rotherham Rep at Rotherham Civic Theatre

The play recreates three classic episodes of the TV series, spanning a year in the life of the residents of Dibley.

Starting in December, the vicar, Geraldine, finds herself being invited to multiple Christmas dinners and being too polite to turn any of them down.

The show then skips through to the following autumn, where she falls in love with love-rat Simon and famously finds out how deep a puddle really is, and then rounds off the year with another December episode where the village puts on a nativity featuring a real-life birth.

Given the success of the TV show, there are some big shoes to fill when taking on the well-known roles, but the company do themselves proud.

Fiona Broadhead leads the cast as the titular vicar, and brilliantly captures the mannerisms, characteristics and charm of her TV counterpart, Dawn French.

She is ably supported by an all-round strong cast who bring to life the familiar characters and deliver the show’s lines with terrific comic timing.

In particular, Yvette Sayles is wonderfully ditzy as Alice, and Dean Charlton is delightfully deadpan as Owen, while Stephen Hepworth, David Mitchell and Roger Hazlewood bounce brilliantly off each other as the village busy bodies.

The show is cleverly staged using a mixture of projected backdrops, simple but effective sets and an incredibly funny filmed section.

Richard Wilshaw’s direction keeps the laughs coming thick and fast, and the script has far more laugh-out-loud moments than I expected.

There is no doubt that fans of the TV series will find a lot to enjoy in the production, and those who have not visited Dibley before will have a terrific time meeting the locals.

Overall, the show has a warm and witty script, and the production is filled with an abundance of genuinely funny moments, some great performances and a tremendous amount of fun.

Given its Christmas setting, The Vicar of Dibley is a perfect way to kick off the festive season.