By Abigail Willock
The director of The Vicar of Dibley play, which is due to open later this month in Coalville, said he has never laughed so much in rehearsals before.
Coalville Drama Group will be premiering its hilarious new show on Wednesday(MARCH23) at the Adult School Hall in Bridge Road.
Director, David Cornes, said he has been keen to put on the show since he cast lead actress June Brechin in ‘Inspector Drake’ in 2018 and thought she would make a fantastic Vicar of Dibley.
He said, “The show is great, I’ve really enjoyed working on it.
“I keep laughing at the same jokes even though I know they’re coming.”
June, who joined the community drama group in order to make new friends after moving to the area, said she has embraced playing the empowering role of female vicar, Geraldine Kennedy.
She said: “She is a woman in a time when being a female vicar was still unheard of.
“She is flirty, confident, the opposite of me really, which is good, acting really helps bring up my confidence and I enjoy playing the sillier roles.”
Earnest Heinds, who plays infamous parish council chairman David Horton, spoke about how he gets into character: “He thinks he’s the village squire.
“He’s a bombastic man, authoritarian and self-deluded, which is not like me at all, but I’ve known people like that, and in acting you are put into different shoes, you have to become someone else.”
Earnest also commented on the positive impact Coalville Drama Group has had on him personally and on the local community.
“The group is so warm, welcoming and grateful and they serve the local community well,” he said.
“Theatre enriches people, and it’s good that people in the local area don’t always have to travel far to see good theatre, because it’s right here on their doorstep.”
