Some Woman review: Duff magnificent, plot implausible — SkimNews
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- Some Woman runs at the Dorfman theatre, National Theatre, London until 21 November, with Anne-Marie Duff starring as Julie, a working mother whose already over-burdened life is upended by an aggressive insult from an 11-year-old boy at a tube station.
- Helen Edmundson's script pushes the incident into a legal battle where Julie faces potential prison time despite the review noting 'no incontrovertible evidence' against her, and staged without an interval under Blanche McIntyre's direction.
- The central argument tracks 'everyday misogyny,' the legal system being 'rigged to distrust women and believe men,' and casual sexual abuse dismissed by those around Julie, but the reviewer says too many sub-plots — a daughter's eating disorder, infidelity, divorce — are 'barely explored.'
- Anne-Marie Duff earns the reviewer's praise as 'wholly believable' and 'magnificent,' with the verdict that 'truth is all Julie has and upholds,' making her 'an everyday female hero' even as the script 'fails' suspension of disbelief.
- Stephen Wight plays the boy's father in the production's strongest scene, a confrontation the reviewer calls 'horribly, sadly real' in its depiction of threat, anger and fear, despite that plot turn also straining believability.
Why it matters: For ticket-buyers weighing the run until 21 November, the review splits sharply: Duff's performance is the reason to go, but the script's 'unconvincing plot turns' and unfocused issue-stacking may leave audiences intellectually engaged yet unwilling to suspend disbelief — the exact failure mode that doomed past issue-driven premieres.
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