The Lady in the Van - West Yorkshire Playhouse

You have probably heard the story about the old lady who lived in a shoe.

For 15 years Yorkshire playwright Alan Bennett had an old lady of his own camped in a beaten up bright yellow Bedford van in his front garden.

Miss Shepherd was an eccentric and frequently cantankerous resident of pre-fashionable Camden Town.

Bennett's play chronicles with mainly fact, and a little fiction, their odd couple relationship over the years from when Miss Shepherd first drove into his life.

Two Alan Bennetts appear on stage to narrate stories and provide a dramatic voice to the conflicting feelings for his unusual tenant. The play is also revealing of his own personality and the relationship with his mother.

Ann Rye is excellent as Miss Shepherd and manages to convey the character's eccentricity without portraying her as a stereotype loon.

Malcolm Scates and Malcolm James are both spot on as the two Alans and there is good support from the rest of the cast.

Anyone familiar with his work will feel instantly at home with the ease of storytelling and the delicious succession of bone dry one liners.

There are also some genuinely touching moments in the play, which is well handled by director Ian Brown.

The West Yorkshire Playhouse has always done Bennett proud in the past and this production is certainly no exception.

The Lady in the Van runs until June 15. For details phone 0113 2137700.