Woman in Mind **** TNT

Friday 27 February 2009

About this article

Close

Woman in Mind

This article was first published on tntonline.co.uk on Friday 27 February 2009 11:18 GMT.

Middle-aged, middleclass housewife Susan steps on a rake, knocks herself out and emerges concussed and confused and apparently living two parallel lives – the one mundane and how things really are, the other a dream from a Mills and Boon romance. Her boring, bearded vicar husband is transformed into an athletic and markedly younger man; the sulky son who refuses to talk to his parents is replaced by a pretty blonde daughter; and, instead of a widowed sister-in-law with her disastrous efforts in the kitchen, there’s a dashing, considerate brother in pristine tennis whites.

Alan Ayckbourn’s clever but increasingly bleak comedy (written in 1985 and which he directs himself) is often extremely funny as Susan interacts with her charmless spouse (Stuart Fox) and the bumbling doctor (Paul Kemp) who has admired her, silently, from a distance since the moment they first met.

But, as in much of his writing, there is also a deep sadness. And, as Susan’s fantasy world turns menacing and collides with reality, Janie Dee’s beautifully nuanced and touching performance reveals all the poignancy of a sadly disappointed woman spiralling towards a complete mental breakdown.

Vaudeville, Strand WC2 (0870 040 0084) to 30th May( £46- £26)