Woman in Mind at the Duke of York’s Theatre
Alan Ayckbourn’s Woman in Mind returns to the West End with an ambitious new staging from Michael Longhurst. Sheridan Smith and Romesh Ranganathan lead the dramedy, which explores the gradual psychological deterioration of a stifled housewife.
Woman in Mind is a tale of parallel worlds. After hitting her head in the garden, a dazed Susan (Smith) finds herself greeted by kindly doctor, Bill (Ranganathan), who initially speaks to her in gibberish. When Susan seemingly comes to, she and Bill attempt to figure out exactly what led to her injury and amnesia. In the apparent “real world”, she is married to dull vicar Gerald (Tim McMullan) and is irritated by maid and terrible cook Muriel (Louise Brealey), herself a widow who believes her late husband communicates with her. In her alternate reality, she is worshipped by a dashing and doting husband, Andy (Sule Rimi), and her well-mannered, educated daughter, Lucy (Safia Oakley-Green).
Susan is in limbo between a boring life of middle-class domesticity and an idyll in which she is adored by her husband and daughter, a precocious young woman with her sights set on Cambridge (perhaps representing the path Susan wishes she had taken). Soutra Gilmour’s set design is divided into these two realities. Susan’s domestic life is portrayed via a drab suburban setting. The other world is one of a sprawling English garden surrounded by lakes, a tennis court, and lush grass in which she and Andy enjoy romantic, carefree rendezvous. The rapid transitions between the two settings mirror Susan’s mental fragmentation, as well as the opposing expectations imposed upon women.
Smith embodies polarities of psychological extremes, going from euphoria to distress within seconds. It’s a performance unparalleled in her extensive body of work, and a world away from her Olivier Award-winning turn as Elle Woods in Legally Blonde. In his West End debut, TV comedy mainstay Ranganathan impresses as the bumbling, albeit compassionate, Bill. While famous for his deadpan sardonic delivery, his performance is as much physical as it is emotional, with the doctor harbouring restrained feelings for Susan. Smith and Ranganathan have a natural onstage rapport, delivering both laughs and pathos.
Though the first act is a little repetitive, Longhurst’s production excels at symbolic storytelling as the second act unfolds. Initially, the audience is introduced to Susan in front of a floral screen inscribed with the words “Safety Curtain”, a standard theatre term which ultimately takes on a new level of symbolism as the play progresses. When the safety curtain is lifted, so is Susan’s mental state, which is thrown into jeopardy as the two realities intertwine. It’s a simple yet highly effective motif that best serves the themes of the narrative.
Conveying femininity as a series of alternating perspectives, each in competition with one another, Longhurst’s staging is a triumph. Led by a performance rich in emotional complexity, Woman in Mind is a powerful, often humorous, tragicomedy that will undoubtedly challenge audiences’ own perceptions of reality.
Antonia Georgiou
Photos: Marc Brenner
Woman in Mind is at the Duke of York’s Theatre until 28th February 2026. For further information or to book, visit the theatre’s website here. Following its West End run, Woman in Mind will play at Sunderland Empire from 4th to 7th March, then at Theatre Royal Glasgow from 10th to 14th March 2026.
Watch the trailer for Woman in Mind at the Duke of York’s Theatre here:
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