Synopsis

After years of putting up with her recently retired husband Graham cluttering up their home with junk from car boots and auctions, Ruth Gibson has a clear-out and adopts a minimalist approach to decorating her living room. She has followed the instructions in a book on feng shui borrowed from her gay neighbour Libby, a psychologist who thinks Ruth should follow her lead in adopting an alternative lifestyle.

As the two women talk in the new look living room, Graham returns from an auction carting several boxes of a job lot into the house. He is not keen on Libby, preferring neighbours that he exchanges only cursory greetings with, and sees the newcomer as having an unsettling influence on his wife. He is a man who prefers his own company, making things out of wood in his workshop. The relationship between the three is explored when Graham believes he has bought a rare and valuable Stradivarius guitar.

Duration

Characters

(1m, 2f)

• Ruth Gibson - 50s, house-proud
• Libby Spencer - Ruth’s neighbour
• Graham Gibson - Ruth’s husband