The Phoenix Players did full justice to Richard Everett’s delightful play last week.

Within the tranquil setting of a rural English vicarage garden, evocative birdsong set the tone for a drama that combines loss, poignancy and hope, enlightened by flashes of humour.

The lighting (by Alan Wrixon and Will Thomas) and sound (by Martin Lawrence) were superb, and as the stream rippled through the lovely garden, undercurrents of secrecy, mistrust and resentment stirred murky, unwelcome revelations, shock and doubt.

Marlene Poole gave a moving portrayal of the newly widowed, former clergy wife Grace, whose long, loyal support of her late husband’s parish ministry seemed undermined by her sister Ruth's return after 40 years of mission aid work in Uganda.

Sally Lovejoy, as Ruth, Nicky Ashdown as Grace's psychotherapist daughter Jo, and Colin Wilkins as Bardolph, the deceased vicar, were all excellent. Emma Hartup, as new vicar Sarah, completed the impressive cast, who won well-deserved applause from the first-night audience.

The charming set benefited from the assistance of John Toomer Garden Centre of Lydiard Millicent.

The production, ably directed by Sandra Gilbert, was another triumph for the Phoenix Players.

A total of £250 from their previous production, Oh, What a Lovely War, has benefited the Royal British Legion. The next Phoenix play has a Mediterranean setting. Enchanted April, by Matthew Barber, will be at the Arts Centre from April 22-25.