Woman in Mind
Written by Alan Ayckbourn
Directed by Ian Macdonald
29 November – 4 December 2010
The comic poet of middle class life, always so very funny, goes deeper and darker in this triumphant play about a housewife named Susan who is married to a boring cleric named George. After getting knocked out by stepping on the tooth end of a garden rake, Susan experiences hilarious hallucinations in which her oppressive and boring everyday life is replaced by a fantasy in which she is an ideal wife and mother with an ideal family. While her real family treats her with condescension and apathy, her fantasy family dresses in lovely white, always drinks champagne, lives in a stately home and tells her that she is wonderful. Eventually, the fantasy family becomes nightmarish and Susan begins to realise that she is going mad.
Cast
Susan – Suzannah Churchill
Gerald – Colin Bailey
Muriel – Janet Pearce
Rick – Scott Godfrey
Dr Bill Windsor – John Hart
Andy – Mark Jamieson
Lucy – Helen Rowe
Tony – Steve Padgham
Crew
Stage Manager, set design and build – Roger Butler, Dave Birmingham, Michael, Trevor, Albert and John
Assistant stage manager, continuity – Betty Bailey
Lighting – Alan and Pamela Hunt
Sound – Jenny McKiernan and Wendi Freeman
Properties – Cara Young and Jennie Leeper
Wardrobe – Marjorie Sawyer and Carole Bramall