A Fine Bright Day Today

Since the death of her trawlerman husband 30 years ago, Margaret Harvey has lived with her daughter Rebecca in a small cottage in a coastal town. Rebecca is moving out to live with her boyfriend, so when she meets Milton Farnsworth, an American visiting the area to paint the landscape, she invites him to lodge with Margaret during his stay. Margaret has become increasingly set in her ways over the years, dependent on ritual and superstition, but with patience, humour, and cheap wine, Milton gradually encourages her to relinquish her hold on control. Warm, funny and moving, A Fine Bright Day Today explores love in later life. "Philip Goulding's play is an enticing piece of understated but effective writing. Leaves you with an optimistic sense that everyone deserves a second chance at happiness." Guardian "Love in middle age can be tricky. In A Fine Bright Day Today Philip Goulding has created a touching new take on the fears and joys of new relationships, and all the risks that seeking the unknown can bring." Manchester Evening News "Philip Goulding's poignant, compelling three-hander is an enigmatic love story. Kevin Shaw's taut direction brings out all its quirky vitality and extraordinarily powerful evocations." The Stage It was performed at the Oldham Coliseum in June 2011 and the New Vic, Newcastle-Under-Lyme, in July 2012.