Woman in Mind - Setting

Setting

The entire play takes place in what is, in reality, Susan and Gerald's tiny back garden. In Susan's imagination - and with it the audience's view - the same piece of grass becomes a small part of her imaginary vast estate (with trees, lakes and a tennis court all in easy reach), with a transition between the two worlds largely achieved through changes in sound and lighting.

The play set over two acts. The first act can be considered as two scenes, the first scene one afternoon, and the second scene on lunchtime the following day. The second act commences almost immediately where the first act leaves off, and ends some time overnight, but as Susan's perception of reality deteriorates, the passage of time becomes subjective.

The play was originally staged in the round for its original production at the Stephen Joseph Theatre, and adapted for the proscenium for the West End production at the Vaudeville Theatre. It was generally viewed that the play worked better as an end-stage production. However, Alan Ayckbourn later revealed that he felt it was harder to achieve the effect of switching between the two worlds. The problem, he argued, was that whilst the round only makes a scenic statement when one calls upon it to do so, the proscenium makes a scenic statement whether or not it is needed.