Janie Dee Produces Woman in Mind Film???

Having received critical acclaim on stage in Alan Ayckbourn’s Woman in Mind, both in Scarborough and earlier this year in the West End, actress Janie Dee is hoping to emulate that success on screen – and is so committed to the project that she’s producing it herself.

In an interview last week with Whatsonstage.com, she explained that she has been turning down other work in order to make it happen. “For absolutely no money at all, I’ve said I want to produce a film of Woman in Mind, and to produce a film takes enormous amounts of time and energy. If I’m really going to do it, I’ve got to put some time apart. Alan has given me the rights for it and he said it’s because he trusts me. It’s obviously a huge honour but also a great responsibility.

“I’m absolutely terrified, I don’t mind telling you, and there’s a part of me that wants to go ‘actually, you know what, I just can’t do it’ and just forget about it. I have done bits of producing before, but I’m not a financial person, I’m crap where business is concerned, but artistically I can usually get things together – and for me it’s only about the artistic potential. That’s probably good for the film, good for the end product, but not so good for keeping your head above water! But I’m absolutely convinced it will make a terrific film, as I said to Alan frequently during rehearsals.”

Ayckbourn himself directed Dee in the recent revival of his 1985 black comedy. 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.