Woman in Mind
- Abudul Karama
- 13 hours ago
- 2 min read
Duke of Yorks Theatre
About Woman in Mind
Audiences are drawn into the fractured consciousness of Susan, a woman whose seemingly ordinary life unravels after she sustains a bump to the head. From that moment, her world divides into two distinct realities: one bleak and mundane, filled with emotional distance and frustration, and another gloriously imagined - an idyllic world where she is cherished, admired, and adored by a perfect family. As these two worlds begin to overlap, the boundaries between truth and fantasy blur with unsettling intensity.
Ayckbourn’s Woman in Mind is a masterful psychological drama that explores identity, isolation, and the silent despair that can lurk beneath suburban normality. Through sharp wit and poignant emotion, the play leads the audience deep into Susan’s mind, where illusion becomes refuge, and her undoing.
It’s worth the applause
West End favourite, Sheridan Smith OBE, is the recipient of two Olivier Awards, a BAFTA, and a National Television Award. She has also been nominated for two International Emmy Awards.
This may be Romesh Ranganathan’s West End debut, but he’s no stranger to acting, having starred in Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget, Despicable Me 4, and Cinderella with Camila Cabello. He is the recipient of a RTS award and a BAFTA.
Director Michael Longhurst is the winner of the Evening Standard Award for Best Play (Constellations); Jerwood Directors Award at the Young Vic (Dirty Butterfly), and Fringe First Award (Guardians).
Sir Alan Ayckbourn has written and produced 91 full-length plays. More than 40 of which have been performed in the West End.
Woman in Mind cast
Susan - Sheridan Smith
Bill - Romesh Ranganathan
Muriel - Louise Brealey
Gerald - Tim McMullan
Andy - Sule Rumi
Tony - Chris Jenks
Lucy - Safia Oakley-Green
Rick - Taylor Uttley
Woman in Mind creatives
Writer - Alan Ayckbourn
Director - Michael Longhurst
Set & Costume Designer - Soutra Gilmour
Lighting Designer - Lee Curran
Sound Designer - Paul Arditti
The entire action is seen through the perspective of the central character, Susan. In other words, the audience experiences events as she does — including confusion, distortion and fantasy.
The setting is deceptively simple: Susan’s small back-garden in reality, which in her imagination becomes a grand estate with lake, tennis court etc.
A major theme: the contrast between Susan’s “real” family (neglected, unsatisfying) and her fantasy family (idealised, loving) — this contrast drives her descent into confusion.
Ayckbourn uses lighting, sound and staging to blur the fantasy-world and the real world, enhancing psychological effect.
Interestingly, Ayckbourn originally planned the central character as male, but changed to a woman as the play developed — he felt a woman’s voice would be more sympathetic.
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