Woman in Mind at Duke of York's Theatre Review

When Susan (Sheridan Smith, making a welcome return to the West End) sustains a bump to the head, her perception of family and relationships assumes a schizophrenic aspect, morphing into a psychedelic version of her more mundane reality as a put-upon vicar’s wife.

Susan’s husband Gerald (an amusing and finely restrained turn from Tim McMullan) occupies his days researching and compiling his magnum opus, a history of the parish since its founding sometime in the fourteenth century. Both his aloof detachment and passive aggression are borne of his dedicated obsession to the dry and inconsequential tome, which undoubtedly no-one will ever read and which he has allowed to distract him from attending to his wife’s needs. As a consequence, Susan’s alternate reality includes a handsome and overtly amorous husband Andy (Sule Rimi) and two children Tony and Lucy (Chris Jenks and Safia Oakley-Green) to complete her nuclear family idyll. In reality, her only child Rick (Taylor Uttley) left home to join a sect two years ago and hasn’t spoken to his parents since. When he returns unexpectedly, chickens come home to roost, causing a rupture in both Susan’s real and imagined mental realms.

Chris Jenks (Tony), Sule Rimi (Andy), Sheridan Smith (Susan) and Safia Oakley-Green (Lucy). Photo by Marc Brenner

Woven into the fabric of the play are two ancillary but significant characters: firstly Bill (Romesh Ranganathan), the doctor who attends Susan after the initial accident, which we’re asked to believe was caused by stepping on a garden rake. His nervous chuckle and long held admiration for his patient assume an altogether tragic air when his own spousal issues are gently teased. Secondly, Gerald’s mousy, widowed sister Muriel (Louise Brealey) who lives with the couple and manages to extract every last ounce of bitter hilarity from her combative exchanges with Susan, which amount to little more than pathetic attempts to compete for her brother’s approval.

There’s commendable work here from the creative team, specifically set and costume designer Soutra Gilmour, along with lighting designer Lee Curran and video designer Andrzej Goulding who have used a palette of soft English country garden hues to create the stylised setting. Those same colours subtly morph into a more garish version during Susan’s episodes to indicate her alternate reality, but the team have managed to avoid the obvious Alice in Wonderland traps.

Finally, what a pleasure to experience a dusting-off of Ayckbourn’s rarely staged play. His dialogue — snappy and laden with pithy meaning even in the intentionally stylised moments — reminds us of the fragility of mental stability and the constant need for compassion and understanding in our daily interactions.

Woman in Mind runs for 2 hours and 30 mins, including an interval.