Ernest Thompson's story of On Golden Pond is still best remembered in the film version which starred Henry Fonda and Katherine Hepburn back in the early 1980s.
But the love story is being revived next week by Next Stage Theatre Company, only just back from another successful trip to the Minack Theatre in Cornwall at Bath's Mission Theatre.
On Golden Pond is the love story of Norman and Ethel Thayer.
The tart-tongued retired professor and his long-suffering wife have stayed in their holiday home on Golden Pond in Maine each summer for as long as they can remember.
The house on the lake holds fond memories for them both, but for their middle-aged daughter, Chelsea, who has always felt that she is a disappointment to her father, recollections of childhood are more ambivalent.
Throughout the summer, Norman seems to have a sense of restlessness as he searches for activities and amusements to fill his days on Golden Pond.
When Chelsea arrives, under duress from her mother, to wish Norman a happy 80th birthday, she brings moral support in the form of her new partner Bill and his teenage son, Billy. Norman is not known for his welcoming nature, but Billy's sharp wit and easy going attitude strike a chord in the aging patriarch.
Maybe it's finally time for Norman to learn a thing or two about love, forgiveness, and the inevitable passing of time.
On Golden Pond which in Bath stars Dave Dunn and Joanna Bowman as Norman And Ethel is the first production to use the theatre's new auditorium layout for 150 audience members.
On Golden Pond has been performed more than 400 times, been translated into 30 languages and played in more than 40 countries across six continents
Says Ann Garner artistic director at the Mission: "While the play, like any work of art, is about many things, it is mainly a study in dysfunction, one family's struggles with what we all struggle with – age, rage, regret, love withheld, love unspoken, disappointment and, ultimately, if we're lucky, forgiveness, acceptance and renewal."
The show runs from from September 10 to 14. Tickets on 01225 428600 or 463362.
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