Sheridan Smith returns to the West End stage in a powerful and surreal exploration of domestic despair, leading the 40th-anniversary revival of Alan Ayckbourn's acclaimed play 'Woman in Mind'.
A Housewife's Hallucinatory Escape
The production, now playing at London's Duke of York's Theatre, sees Smith embody Susan, a middle-aged housewife whose mundane existence is shattered after an accident with a garden rake. The blow to her head triggers a vivid, alternate reality that offers a seductive refuge from her emotionally barren real life.
In her tangible world, Susan is trapped with her detached vicar husband Gerald, played by Tim McMullan, her intensely dreary sister-in-law Muriel (Louise Brealey), and a son, Rick (Taylor Uttley), who has cut off contact after joining a sect. Her fantasy, however, conjures a perfect, adoring family—a stark and increasingly sinister contrast.
Star-Studded Cast and Surreal Staging
Smith is joined by comedian Romesh Ranganathan, who makes a notable stage debut as the anxiously nerdy Doctor Bill. Under Michael Longhurst's direction, the hallucinatory family—comprising Andy (Sule Rimi), Lucy (Safia Oakley-Green), and Tony (Chris Jenks)—is rendered in jarringly garish colours, with a disquieting soundtrack by Paul Arditti that heightens the unease.
The design, by Soutra Gilmour, cleverly blurs the lines between Susan's herb garden and a hyper-real pastoral idyll, while video projections by Andrzej Goulding visually melt the boundaries between reality and delusion. The tone masterfully shifts from retro domestic comedy to full-blown psychological nightmare.
A Play That Stands the Test of Time
First staged in 1985, Ayckbourn's play remains strikingly original and bold. It delivers a piercing critique of the emptiness lurking within traditional married life and the desperate avenues of escape a woman might seek. Smith's performance captures Susan's initial whimsical vulnerability, which gradually hardens as her fantasies darken.
The revival proves the work's enduring relevance, particularly in an era where real-world pressures feel overwhelming. It poses a haunting question: is retreat into fantasy a solution, or merely a different shade of the same nightmare?
'Woman in Mind' continues its London run until 28 February. The production will then tour, visiting the Sunderland Empire from 4-7 March and the Theatre Royal, Glasgow, from 10-14 March.
