Photos

1st Night Photos: Ayckbourn’s Woman at Vaudeville

On Friday (6 February, previews from 29 January), Sir Alan Ayckbourn was in town to mark the West End transfer of his revival of his own 1985 black comedy Woman in Mind, starring Janie Dee (pictured, with Ayckbourn) in the title role. 

Dee last worked with the prolific playwright ten years ago on, arguably, the biggest hit of her career to date: playing an android in Ayckbourn’s Comic Potential, which earned her Best Actress trophies at the Evening Standard, Critics’ Circle and Laurence Olivier Awards. That production also opened first at Scarborough’s Stephen Joseph Theatre, where the playwright recently stepped down as artistic director, before transferring to the West End.


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PHOTOS BY DAN WOOLLER FOR
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For
1st Night Photos, our Whatsonstage.com photographer Dan Wooller was on hand at the Vaudeville Theatre for the curtain call and at Les Ambassadeurs for the post-show party, attended by the company and guests including Sir Alan Ayckbourn and his wife Heather Stoney, as well as actors Ray Cooney, Natalie Casey, Saskia Wickham, Rupert Wickham and Anna Francolini.

In Woman in Mind, forty-something Susan is starved of affection by her vicar husband and distant son. Following a bump on the head care of an accident with a rake, Susan is confronted with not just her real family but also an imaginary one that’s far more devoted.

The production had a limited run at in Scarborough this past September as part of the Ayckbourn’s farewell season as the Stephen Joseph’s artistic director (See News, 10 Jul 2008), and runs at the Vaudeville until 31 May 2009.

– by Theo Bosanquet