Sheridan Smith returns to the West End this Christmas with 'Woman in Mind'

"Last time Sheridan Smith was in the West End it was with Ivo van Hove's Opening Night , a leftfield art musical that in no way deserved the sneering notices it got in the more backwards quarters of the press, but at the same time was clearly much too weird for a mass Theatreland audience. But Smith'll bounce back this Christmas, rejoining forces with Opening Night producers Wessex Grove as she plots her West End return."

"That said, an Alan Ayckbourn okay definitely sounds like a safer commercial bet than a formally challenging Euro-musical: she'll star in a revival of the veteran British dramatist's hit 1985 play Woman in Mind, directed by ex-Donmar boss Michael Longhurst. As with much of Ayckbourn's work, this one comes with a conceit. It concerns Susan (Smith), a woman who takes a bump to the head and starts to experience two versions of reality: one real, one imagined."

Sheridan Smith's previous West End outing was Ivo van Hove's Opening Night, a leftfield art musical that received sneering notices and proved too unconventional for mainstream Theatreland audiences. Smith will rejoin Opening Night producers Wessex Grove and return to the West End this Christmas. She will star in a revival of Alan Ayckbourn's 1985 play Woman in Mind, directed by Michael Longhurst. The play follows Susan, who suffers a bump to the head and begins to experience two versions of reality, one real and one imagined. The revival offers a safer commercial bet and a meaty role for Smith; performances run at the Duke of York's Theatre from Dec 9 to Feb 28, 2026.

Read at Time Out London