Milton Keynes Theatre of comedy (MKTOC) is a bunch of extremely talented people who have taken on The Vicar of Dibley.
This show is pure joy. The sets are divided into four scenes, David Horton’s house, Geraldine’s cottage, the parish council meeting set and of course the scene for the jokes over a cuppa.
Geraldine is played Joy Dilnot and she gives an outstanding performance. Joy’s comic timing is flawless and in almost every scene, she is the glue that holds the whole show together. Her sidekick is Alice played by Alice Dobell and she is absolutely spectacular in the role. Alice by name and Alice by nature and she was born to play this role. Her voice is spot on and her attitude gives ditsy Alice everything she needs. The smurf and Mario figure in her hair complete the look.
These two are dynamite together in their scenes that they share and the coffee jokes are a highlight of the show with regular jokes and a rapturous applause from the audience. It is a perfect homage to the original Alice, Emma Chambers who sadly passed away earlier this year. (A collection to the British Heart Foundation was done in her memory).
Jim Trott is played by David Pibworth and is full of character. No no no no no.. oh yes! He has some great lines and is very funny. His voice is Jim all over and even when he gets naked (I know – I wasn’t expecting it either) – its done in a typical Jim style. Owen, played by Gary Martindale who is the farmer and Gary gives a great performance as Owen who is a bit of a dirty old man.
David Horton is played by Sean McDermott and it is not only the bald head that makes him a great David. David has the attitude and underneath his Tory exterior he is genuinely kind and cares about Dibley. His son, Hugo, is married to Alice in this show and is played by Steve Clark. Steve gets every mannerism right. The quirky head tilt. The walk. Its absolutely Hugo.
The whole cast are all fabulous and really well-defined characters that you know and love. Its brave to take on a show that people already love but this show transfers from the small screen to the stage perfectly and made the whole audience laugh. Let’s hope it’s not too long before we get another outing to Dibley.
The Vicar Of Dibley 3 – The Holy Trinity is on until 21st April and tickets can be bought here: http://www.mktoc.co.uk/2017/12/10/the-vicar-of-dibley-3-holy-trinity/