Woman in Mind

Woman in Mind description

Woman in Mind, Alan Ayckbourn's smash hit dark comedy, is both surreal and disturbing.

Meet Susan, the star of Woman in Mind. She's married to a vicar. She's also bored to tears, sick to death of her humdrum life. Her family members are dull and miserable. Her husband doesn't care. Her sister-in-law is a scrounger and her child isn't speaking to her. So she creates an imaginary world to escape into, a place where she's rich, happy, successful and adored. Her family loves her, her husband cares deeply, her brother is devoted to her and everything is perfect. But things become increasingly weird as Susan daydreams on in the garden, her real and imaginary lives start to merge and overlap in shocking ways, and she edges ever-closer to a mental breakdown.

The play premiered in 1985, playwright and director Ayckbourn's thirty-second piece of work. Described as a dramatic exploration of a psyche broken by domestic pressure, it hasn't been revived since 2009. Now it's back in the capital, given a fresh new face to recapture the haunting spirit of the original. This dark, eerie yet funny play is just as disturbing now as it was forty years ago.

Ayckbourn at his most brave and bold, the play blends laughs with painful truths to create something that has audiences on the edge of their seats. When mental health issues and chronic loneliness blur the lines between real life and illusion, strange things happen.

The look and feel is particularly exciting this time around, using staging, lighting, and sound to alternate between the beautiful fantasy Susan is weaving and the grim reality of her dreary home life.

Buy Woman in Mind tickets for a hilariously dark roller-coaster ride through the emotions, from despair to joy and everything in between.

Starring:

Sheridan Smith

Playing at Duke of York's Theatre

104 St Martin's Lane, London, WC2N 4BG GB (venue info)

Directions