Review: Sinodun Players present Entertaining Angels, Corn Exchange, Wallingford

SINODUN PLAYERS’ latest production is Entertaining Angels, Richard Everett’s bittersweet comedy about vicarage life, skilfully directed by Julie Utley.

The bright and breezy set design by Vicky Squires takes us to a garden – pretty to look at but becoming a virtual battleground for family disputes.

Grace has a reputation for being difficult. When her clergyman husband dies, she is suddenly released from all the expectations of being a vicar’s wife, for instance acting as the sounding board for Bardolph’s latest sermon and the endless cups of tea brewed for parishioners.

But her supposed freedom is not all that it seems, especially as some harsh home truths begin to emerge and the conventional surface of her past life splinters.

Erica Harley is first rate as the cranky, embittered Grace with her razor-sharp tongue. Alex Reid is blithe and funny as long-suffering daughter Jo, who does her best to raise her mother’s spirits.

The other house guest is Grace’s sister, Ruth, home from her missionary work in Africa. The two have never been close: Marilyn Johnstone as Ruth comically captures the animosity between the pair as she doggedly mows stripes into the lawn while Grace is trying in vain to hold a conversation on the phone.

The spiky relationship between the sisters is at the heart of the drama; their fallings-out are furious and the path to forgiveness proves hard to follow.

Chris Bertrand gives a stand-out performance as the amiable but flawed Bardolph, whose ghost meets regularly in the garden with his widow. They chat amiably and frankly about their shared life, but sparks fly when Grace discovers uncomfortable secrets that make her reconsider her marriage.

The drama acknowledges the inevitability of change in life. Caroline Malnick as sprightly new vicar Sarah embodies the changing face of the church, hitherto dominated by male clergy. Sarah faces her own private challenges with regard to relationships and life choices.

Malnick’s upbeat delivery reassures the audience that life goes on, whatever difficulties we encounter. The play also offers a thoughtful meditation on the place of faith in human life. In questioning mood, Grace considers whether faith can imprison rather than support an individual.

Entertaining Angels is a slow-burn comedy about real life disappointment, grief and deception; however, the dialogue is punctuated with comic one-liners that had the audience laughing out loud. Everett’s witty, poignant script, brought to life by a dedicated cast and director, made for a very enjoyable and thought-provoking evening of theatre.