60 Rutland Street Leicester Leicestershire LE1 1SB
Telephone
0116 242 3560
Station
Description
Opened Autumn 2008. Curve features two auditoria, one with 750 fixed seats while a 350 seat auditorium will provide a versatile smaller space. When the 32 tonne steel walls separating the stage and the foyer are lifted, the stage will be visible from street level.
Miss Shepherd is a curious and enigmatic lady. Alan knows very little about her. She used to drive ambulances in the war, might have been a nun, sells pencils and pamphlets and has an unexplained aversion to piano music. But somehow she lives in the playwright’s garden and has done for years. The Lady in the Van is based on renowned British playwright Alan Bennett’s own recollections of the indomitable Miss Shepherd and is, as with any Bennett play, a beautifully observed, sharply intelligent and wonderfully witty drama.
Telling (roughly) the true story of the female tramp who literally camped out on Alan Bennett’s front doorstep in a succession of rusty vehicles for 20 years, The Lady in the Van does exactly what it says on the tin.
It’s a study of the fine line between eccentricity and madness, of the tolerance – or otherwise – of a society that doesn’t know how to deal with “different” people, and, in an extended metaphor, of Bennett’s own relationship with his mother.
There’s plenty of introspection and exploration, with not one but two Bennett characters on stage, one narrating the tale, the other interacting with the uninvited Miss Shepherd and all the other characters she brings into his life.
And while the result is often entertaining and frequently fascinating, the question of whether it’s really a play at all remains largely unanswered, in spite of Bennett’s attempt at a second-act coup de theatre and some kind of resolution.
There is much to enjoy among the performances, not least the two Bennetts themselves, Sean McKenzie and Paul Kemp, who narrowly avoid easy caricature and instead pitch their voices and mannerisms just right as the Eeyore-ish, slightly mystified writer trying to come to terms with this unexpected invasion of his privacy.
Nichola McAuliffe gives a beautifully judged Miss Shepherd, filthy and utterly self-centred, yet still drawing deeply on pathos and emotion to make the audience reconsider its value judgements alongside the Bennetts.
And special mention must be made of the set, by Ben Stones, which uses three vehicles, a revolve and a full-blown lifting winch – pretty impressive for a touring production – to create the world in which Miss Shepherd lives out her final years and into which we get a poignant glimpse.
it was amazing, i really did't want to go in the first place, my parents made me go, i am really glad they did now it was an amazing production and hilariously
funny,stunning acting!! - Georgia
24 May 12
Loved this show!! what can I say - all the cast were superb - especially HOLLY JAMES -OUTSTANDING! - James Perry
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