London

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="683" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2026/01/21.-WOMAN-IN-MIND.-Sheridan-Smith-Susan.-Photo-by-Marc-Brenner-1-1024x683.jpg" alt="Sheridan Smith woman in mind " class="wp-image-17652" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2026/01/21.-WOMAN-IN-MIND.-Sheridan-Smith-Susan.-Photo-by-Marc-Brenner-1-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2026/01/21.-WOMAN-IN-MIND.-Sheridan-Smith-Susan.-Photo-by-Marc-Brenner-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2026/01/21.-WOMAN-IN-MIND.-Sheridan-Smith-Susan.-Photo-by-Marc-Brenner-1-768x513.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2026/01/21.-WOMAN-IN-MIND.-Sheridan-Smith-Susan.-Photo-by-Marc-Brenner-1.jpg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



Sheridan Smith is rapidly becoming the West End&#8217;s shiniest star. It seems the Olivier award-winning actor can do no wrong, from her much-loved (and critically acclaimed) performance in smash hit Shirley Valentine to sorority-queen-turns-law-student Elle in Legally Blonde, and she deserves to pick up more nominations for her latest lead role as volatile Susan in <a href="https://muddystilettos.tixculture.com/london/shows/45418-woman-in-mind" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Woman In Mind</a>. 



Just-opened at the Duke of York&#8217;s Theatre, Alan Ayckbourn&#8217;s (RIP) dark domestic comedy turned 40 last year and, although some theatre reviewers have been quick to point out there are elements that feel dated, Muddy disagrees. 



Based around a housewife whose mind is slowly unravelling after a bang on the head from a garden rake, Ayckbourn&#8217;s (groundbreaking in 1985) empathetic portrayal of suburban boredom, middle-class facade, loveless marriages, parental anxiety and domestic drudgery feels just as relevant today &#8211; and the audience agrees judging by the frequent laughter on Monday night. 



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="683" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2026/01/22.-WOMAN-IN-MIND.-Romesh-Ranganathan-Bill-and-Sheridan-Smith-Susan.-Photo-by-Marc-Brenner-1024x683.jpg" alt="Woman in mind " class="wp-image-17642" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2026/01/22.-WOMAN-IN-MIND.-Romesh-Ranganathan-Bill-and-Sheridan-Smith-Susan.-Photo-by-Marc-Brenner-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2026/01/22.-WOMAN-IN-MIND.-Romesh-Ranganathan-Bill-and-Sheridan-Smith-Susan.-Photo-by-Marc-Brenner-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2026/01/22.-WOMAN-IN-MIND.-Romesh-Ranganathan-Bill-and-Sheridan-Smith-Susan.-Photo-by-Marc-Brenner-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2026/01/22.-WOMAN-IN-MIND.-Romesh-Ranganathan-Bill-and-Sheridan-Smith-Susan.-Photo-by-Marc-Brenner.jpg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



From the get-go Romesh Ranganathan causes giggles as clumsy Dr Bill, the comedian&#8217;s first acting role in the West End. He navigates it brilliantly, flitting between caring concern for Susan&#8217;s increasingly fragile mental state and earnest declarations of feelings for her. 



Meanwhile Tim McMullan&#8217;s Gerald, Susan&#8217;s dull-yet-dependable Vicar-husband, also brings some laughs with perfectly timed exasperation, inability to understand his wife&#8217;s desires and verbose explanations. As Susan quips, &#8220;When I think what we could have done with our lives if we hadn&#8217;t decided to talk about everything first.&#8221; 



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="683" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2026/01/13.-WOMAN-IN-MIND.-Chris-Jenks-Tony-Sule-Rimi-Andy-Sheridan-Smith-Susan-and-Safia-Oakley-Green-Lucy.-Photo-by-Marc-Brenner-1024x683.jpg" alt="woman in mind " class="wp-image-17650" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2026/01/13.-WOMAN-IN-MIND.-Chris-Jenks-Tony-Sule-Rimi-Andy-Sheridan-Smith-Susan-and-Safia-Oakley-Green-Lucy.-Photo-by-Marc-Brenner-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2026/01/13.-WOMAN-IN-MIND.-Chris-Jenks-Tony-Sule-Rimi-Andy-Sheridan-Smith-Susan-and-Safia-Oakley-Green-Lucy.-Photo-by-Marc-Brenner-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2026/01/13.-WOMAN-IN-MIND.-Chris-Jenks-Tony-Sule-Rimi-Andy-Sheridan-Smith-Susan-and-Safia-Oakley-Green-Lucy.-Photo-by-Marc-Brenner-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2026/01/13.-WOMAN-IN-MIND.-Chris-Jenks-Tony-Sule-Rimi-Andy-Sheridan-Smith-Susan-and-Safia-Oakley-Green-Lucy.-Photo-by-Marc-Brenner.jpg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



Susan&#8217;s imagined family &#8211; sexy husband Andy (Sule Rimi), brother Tony (Chris Jenks) and longed-for daughter Lucy (Safia Oakley-Green) &#8211; appear at first to be the dream alternative universe she craves: a partner and child who adore her, smart outfits, servants, a mansion in acres of grounds and ever-flowing Champagne. 



Yet the vivid world they inhabit starts to turn sour and collide with her increasingly troubled reality &#8211; estranged son Andy (Taylor Littley) returns from a two-year stint in a cult to announce he&#8217;s tied the knot and is off to Thailand. 



When Susan&#8217;s conjured up relatives start appearing frequently in her real life situation, things become more unhinged. A dramatic end scene, where all the characters merge in a surreal, mind-spinning clash (think Gerald as a young Elvis), is a powerful portrayal of a mental breakdown and lifts this play way above a domestic comedy. 



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="683" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2026/01/14.-WOMAN-IN-MIND.-Safia-Oakley-Green-Lucy-and-Sheridan-Smith-Susan.-Photo-by-Marc-Brenner-1024x683.jpg" alt="Woman in mind " class="wp-image-17655" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2026/01/14.-WOMAN-IN-MIND.-Safia-Oakley-Green-Lucy-and-Sheridan-Smith-Susan.-Photo-by-Marc-Brenner-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2026/01/14.-WOMAN-IN-MIND.-Safia-Oakley-Green-Lucy-and-Sheridan-Smith-Susan.-Photo-by-Marc-Brenner-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2026/01/14.-WOMAN-IN-MIND.-Safia-Oakley-Green-Lucy-and-Sheridan-Smith-Susan.-Photo-by-Marc-Brenner-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2026/01/14.-WOMAN-IN-MIND.-Safia-Oakley-Green-Lucy-and-Sheridan-Smith-Susan.-Photo-by-Marc-Brenner.jpg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



When you&#8217;re not marvelling at Sheridan Smith&#8217;s faultless performance, you&#8217;ll be impressed by the set. Lush plants and cloudless blue skies in Susan&#8217;s imagined domesticity are a pleasure to look at, while a couple of garden chairs symbolise her more mundane real life situ. 



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="683" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2026/01/4.-WOMAN-IN-MIND.-Tim-McMullan-Gerald.-Photo-by-Marc-Brenner-1024x683.jpg" alt="Woman in mind " class="wp-image-17656" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2026/01/4.-WOMAN-IN-MIND.-Tim-McMullan-Gerald.-Photo-by-Marc-Brenner-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2026/01/4.-WOMAN-IN-MIND.-Tim-McMullan-Gerald.-Photo-by-Marc-Brenner-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2026/01/4.-WOMAN-IN-MIND.-Tim-McMullan-Gerald.-Photo-by-Marc-Brenner-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2026/01/4.-WOMAN-IN-MIND.-Tim-McMullan-Gerald.-Photo-by-Marc-Brenner.jpg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



An &#8216;imaginary sex in a rain storm&#8217; scene is particularly impressive &#8211; after the curtains had closed Muddy overheard audience members discussing how on earth the set designers managed to make it rain on stage then burst into sunshine. Like the rest of Woman In Mind, it makes you think. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-muddy-verdict">THE MUDDY VERDICT</h2>



GOOD FOR:&nbsp;Sheridan fans, Romesh fans, Ayckbourn fans and for anyone who has ever imagined stepping out of their own life and inhabiting a fantasy world, it&#8217;s a hard relate. 



NOT FOR:&nbsp;If you&#8217;re looking for belly laughs all night, this might be a shade too dark. 



THE DAMAGE?&nbsp;Ticket from £18.



See <a href="https://muddystilettos.tixculture.com/london/shows/45418-woman-in-mind" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Woman In Mind</a> at Duke of York&#8217;s Theatre until 28 Feb.

Review: Woman In Mind, Duke of York’s Theatre

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