Dandy Dick

Steeplechasing

DANDY DICK

A drama by A.W. Pinero

Adapted and directed by Christopher Luscombe

Starring Patricia Hodge and Nicholas Le Prevost

Showing in Manchester until September 1 before transferring to the West End

This stage play is a comedy based on a piece written in 1887 by the English dramatist Arthur Wing Pinero.

It is the story of the Very Reverend Augustin Jedd (Nicholas Le Prevost), pillar of Victorian Anglicanism, and the effects brought about by a visit from his worldly sister, played by the admirable Patricia Hodge.

As such, of course, it is a humorous exposure of the typical failings of many 19th-century clergy in the established church. The Reverend preaches regularly against the evils of gambling and horse racing and is portrayed as a loveable old buffer with something of a conscience. But, as a widower without a great deal of money, concerned to repair the crumbling church steeple and with two daughters of marriageable age who have certain expectations about mixing in the right circles and dressing in keeping with the fashion, he finds himself in a financial fix. It is then that his sister, of forceful character and part owner of the horse Dandy Dick, comes to stay at the deanery for the period of the nearby racing festival.

The plot unfolds from there with classic Victorian characters, such as those of the butler, the local policeman and his wife, and the two young military suitors for the Reverend’s girls. All this is played beautifully on the very edge of hamming-up and with some excellent music thrown in.

But this production makes more than simply an enjoyable evening. It reminds Christians that it is good to see ourselves as others see us and have our hypocrisies exposed. It shows us the emptiness of respectable religion which has no vital relationship with a living God. And it warns us that we can be drawn into compromise by those closest to us, especially if we worry too much about what society at large will think of us.