Visit the village of Dibley in this wonderful stage adaptation of the classic BBC sitcom at the Little Theatre in Leicester this week.

The story combines the threads of several episodes of the TV series including the first episode in which the parishioners of Dibley are introduced to their new vicar. Their new female vicar, Geraldine Granger (played by Kat Seddon), that is. For the traditional village, this comes as something of a shock and the vicar faces some initial resistance but determinedly cracks on with the job, hoping her loveable and joyful personality will eventually win them over.

The original sitcom so captivated audiences because of the weird and wonderful parishioners, each with their own specific peculiarities. The Little Theatre’s cast does those original characters full justice, with each being immediately recognisable.

There’s the curmudgeonly head of the parish council David Horton (David Lovell) who leads in the charge against Geraldine, preferring that Dibley not be the guinea pig for the Church’s experiments in modernity. Lovell is wonderfully grumpy in the role, and is able to express a lot through a simple eyebrow raise.

Then there’s David’s son, Hugo Horton (Keir Watson) who wanders wide-eyed through life, ever chasing the approval of his father. Sporting rather fetching ties, Watson captures Hugo’s naivety and spars well with Lovell. Hugo, of course, is deeply in love with Alice Tinker (Kathryn Lenthall), the rather simple, but nonetheless loveable church verger.

Lenthall’s accent for Alice is spot on, and she acts as much with her face as she does with her voice. Lenthall’s performance matches very well to the original character, but thankfully avoids being a parody, retaining a warmth that is vital to the character of Alice.

The chemistry between Lenthall and Watson is instant and palpable. The first moment they share the stage together, those awkward glances tell such a strong story. The whole audience is rooting for them from the off.

Perhaps the most instantly recognisable member of the parish council is Jim Trott (Ian Carr), who dithers on almost everything he says. Carr’s portrayal is so utterly perfect it felt like Trevor Peacock was on the stage. The way Carr moves, speaks and generally holds himself throughout the show is exactly identical to the originalx and is incredible to watch.

Taking the minutes for the council is Frank Pickle (John Bale), a proud, if facetiously meticulous notetaker. Bale has great comic timing and has a good chemistry with Lovell, making the council meetings a joy to watch.

If one was to visit Dibley then one would be wise to avoid the baking of Letitia Cropley (Elizabeth Spendlove), the dotty and forgetful lady in charge of the church flowers. As with the rest of the cast, Cropley elicits many a laugh with her well delivered lines, waiting just the right amount of time before revealing what the mystery ingredient in her pancakes is!

Rounding off the council is Owen Newitt (Jordan Handford), an overly raunchy bowel-troubled farmer who has more than a passing attraction to Geraldine. Hanford skillfully navigates this character, managing to avoid turning Owen into a wholly unlikeable pest, instead maintaining the humour of the character.

Of course, bringing the whole parish together is Seddon’s Geraldine Granger. Seddon instantly endears herself to the audience, showing off how charismatic and utterly likeable the Vicar truly is. She also captures several of Dawn French’s physical mannerisms in the performance which adds to her overall believability. It is abundantly clear that Seddon, along with the whole cast, thoroughly enjoy performing this show and that makes it all the more enjoyable to watch.

Walking into the Little Theatre auditorium, I was immediately struck by Tristan Knowles’ brilliant set design. It is as if the iconic sets of the shows were transported directly to Leicester. The stage is split between the parish hall and the vicarage with occasional other locales also represented. Sam Milton’s clever lighting design clearly delineates these spaces helping with the show’s flow.

Nikki Favell’s excellent direction ensures the laughs keep rolling and the show moves at an appropriate pace. Favell works out how to extract maximum comedy from scenes and directs an extremely well polished and highly professional presentation of this glorious play.

Is it worth getting a ticket to see The Vicar of Dibley? No, no, no, no, no…absolutely yes.