REVIEW: Woman in Mind on the Chichester Festival Theatre

Sir Alan Ayckbourn has written and produced greater than eighty full-length performs since his first within the late fifties and established himself as one in every of Britain’s most prolific and profitable comedy writers. In the sixties and seventies, he had a string of massively profitable performs primarily based largely round middle-class households in disaster however typically with a superb theatrical trick that made them stand out from the remaining. In 1985 he wrote Woman in Mind which has a really completely different darker really feel however continues to be firmly rooted within the eighties tradition. When do you keep in mind your native Doctor final visiting you at house thrice in a 48-hour interval! Or did he?

It is fantastically set (Designer Lez Brotherton) benefiting from the Festival Theatre’s thrust stage to create a raised backyard space on the sting of rolling countryside and prolonged lawns of Susan’s various world (the place we’re sat). Backed by an impressive sky video projection from Simon Baker hints at which world we’re in and dramatically foretells the approaching storm at sundown when the 2 worlds collide. The lush grass impact that covers the stage doesn’t even trace on the grass being greener within the various world because it may need accomplished!

In this picturesque setting, Jenna Russell is discovered as Susan and stays all through the entire play, reinforcing the truth that every little thing we see is in her eyes and thoughts. As a consequence, her supply is somewhat one-note, and we by no means actually hear or see how others is perhaps viewing her irrational behaviour and explanations. Nevertheless, it’s a splendidly sustained efficiency which turns into extra alarming and poignant as she will get drenched in the midst of the night time fantasising about how her two worlds may come collectively. It is rarely fairly clear whether or not her confusion is the direct results of being hit on the top by a rake or an entire psychological breakdown.

There is nice help for her from the forged, particularly Matthew Cottle as Bill, who first encounters her and begins to disclose that every one isn’t effectively in her thoughts. He is superb at pretending to interact along with her imagined baby in what is maybe the most effective scene of the play, an act of excellent intentions that maybe ideas her over the sting. Nigel Lindsay is her parish vicar’s husband Gerald extra obsessive about writing a guide on the historical past of his parish than seeing or caring about his spouse’s psychological state however offering a robust distinction to her adoring husband within the various world of Andy performed by Marc Elliott. It is clear why she can be interested in his consideration and flattery in comparison with Gerald.

In the actual world, her son Rick performed by Will Attenborough is distant and indifferent from the household unit (understandably given his mum or dad’s behaviour) and is contrasted along with her enticing imagined daughter Lucy (Flora Higgins) who adores her mom. Orlando James is Susan’s imagined brother Tony, an upper-class toff who performs tennis and goes capturing as a counter place to her real-world sister-in-law Muriel (Stephanie Jacob) the “Mrs Overall” model housekeeper who confuses all of the substances in her cooking for some fairly lame laughs. Neither of those members of the family are sympathetic and appears included only for low-cost laughs.

Director Anne Mackmin retains the tempo flowing so we don’t get an opportunity to replicate on the entire implausibility of the scenario however by some means the distinction between the comedic moments and the excessive drama are usually not sturdy sufficient to shock or shock us and the sequence when the bride turns into a horse in a race is solely weird. There is little question that within the thirty-plus years since this was written psychological well being issues have grow to be rather more widespread and extra is mentioned in regards to the sense of lose of id that girls have felt which make this matter extra related in the present day however by some means Woman in thoughts comes throughout as a interval piece from the eighties and lacks the good theatrical construction of Ayckbourn’s most profitable performs or the actually nice moments of comedian farce. It is a stable and pleasant manufacturing with forged and high-quality set however given the author’s pedigree, I anticipated extra.

Review by Nick Wayne