One afternoon Susan finds herself lying on the lawn of her suburban garden, concussed by a garden rake, and the family doctor tending to her; soon her adoring, handsome husband and the rest of the family arrive home to spoil her.
But when her real husband – a vicar whose main love is writing the 60-page history of the parish – arrives home, we realise that Susan has created an entire fantasy family as an antidote to the real one. Read more …
Soon, as Susan becomes increasingly bewildered, the two worlds start to overlap – and finally collide, leading to situations of hilarious but agonising awkwardness.
‘It’s wrong to bottle things up, then? At worst, there’ll be an almighty explosion and a great deal of damage. Even at best, you’re liable to finish up with your dinner all over the ceiling’.
Something, but something, will have to give...
Pitch perfect.
At the show's centre is a vigorously no holds barred performance from Meg Fraser as Susan, with some strong support from an impressive cast.
Woman in Mind is a funny and unsettling vision of mental ill health.
Whether the play, which, typically of Ayckbourn, swings between intriguing psychological drama and sometimes facile humour, deserves all this good work is a moot point.
Alan Ayckbourn--Woman in Mind
Dundee Rep Theatre, Dundee from Wednesday May 21, 2014, until Saturday June 7, 2014. More info: www.dundeereptheatre.co.uk
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