The Lady In The Van

Directed by Carole Carr

It is said that charity begins at home. For Alan Bennett, it began at the bottom of his drive with a yellow custard van inhabited by an irascible eccentric who refused to budge.

The Lady in the Van is the true story of Miss Shepherd, an offbeat woman of uncertain origins, who “temporarily” parked her broken-down van in writer Alan Bennett’s London driveway, and proceeded to live there for the next 15 years.

Miss Shepherd’s stay may have been a blight on Bennett’s front garden, but it eventually allowed him to unravel the fascinating story of her life – for which we are all eternally indebted.