The Lady in the Van

One day in 1974, a rather smelly, reclusive lady calling herself Mary Shepherd, drove her van into Alan Bennett’s garden in Camden and there she stayed, in his driveway, until her death in 1989.

Writing about her later, he questions how she overcame his initial resistance to the idea. Perhaps, he admits wryly, it was just easier to say yes than no. Miss Shepherd was certainly a strong personality, convinced of her own importance in the world and her right to be indulged and catered for, with no consideration for personal hygiene or social niceties. Fiercely secretive about her own past, there were hints that she might once have been a child prodigy at the piano, studied in France, and had failed eventually in her bid to become a nun. Moreover, she harboured a guilty secret. And Alan Bennett fell hopelessly under the sway of this remarkable cockeyed character, subsequently writing this heart-warming, and award-winning, play about their 15-year relationship.

As he says in the foreword: “It is mainly true”.

Tickets: Adults £10, Concessions £8

Suitable for all
Running time 2 hrs 20 mins plus interval