Writer and Director: Mimi Nation-Dixon
Sex, smoking and online dating; it’s not easy being a vicar, especially for eternally single Margot in Mimi Nation-Dixon’s new monologue Sit or Kneel at The Other Palace Studio, Covering the problems of fantasising about parishioners, seeing everyone else’s lives moving on without you and life in the countryside, the one thing Nation-Dixon doesn’t have very much to say about is God or the specific challenges of being a female spiritual leader. As this 70-minute show leans into all the romcom clichés, it’s not always clear why this character needed to be a vicar at all.
Newly ordained and about to celebrate six months in her first parish, vicar Margot is distracted by the presence of a handsome stranger, Jonathan, in the congregation, which disconcerts her mid-service. Pursuing him through village supper clubs and private meetings, the will-they-won’t-they tension becomes unbearable for Margot, who keeps thinking about the past, hoping to find love with someone in the countdown to Christmas.
Nation-Dixon’s show feels like a work in progress, staggering a little under the weight of so many ideas all thrown together to see what sticks. Some concepts do, others not so much, with too many floating ideas or really serious themes given too little consideration in the development of the character, while some of the most interesting possibilities are not considered at all. Nation-Dixon seems particularly fixed on the romcom idea, painting an impression of someone man-obsessed in a noughties Bridget Jones sense, talking almost exclusively about men she wants, men she wanted to have, with no real purpose.
Neither the resultant loneliness nor the difficulty of looking for a partner in a job that is perceived as entirely satisfying is investigated, and would be a far more fruitful direction for the comedy. The crush on Jonathan is interesting, although the audience never discovers why he steps back so suddenly, and picking an audience member to represent him on stage in one scene yet not others is part of the inconsistency of the overall approach.
Likewise, the portrayal of other parishioners is a good idea, but the farmer burying his favourite bird is just an excuse for lots of cock jokes. Similarly a misunderstanding about Margot ‘marrying’ an old flame is borrowed from The Vicar of Dibley from 1994, and links to a strongly implied sexual assault that is not given enough depth or consideration in Margot’s wider behaviour, used as an ‘excuse’ to explain her marital status but not as a starting point for a whole lifetime of interactions with men and God.
And that is the most surprising aspect of Sit or Kneel is that God doesn’t get a look in, a missed opportunity to reflect on what it means to be a woman vicar 30 years after Paul Mayhew-Archer, Richard Curtis and Dawn French created one and now, with a woman being promoted to the highest office in the Church of England. Nation-Dixon’s performance is enjoyable, but sidestepping the spiritual life leaves the audience unfulfilled.
Runs until 26 October 2025
