Frome Drama Club’s spring production at the Merlin Theatre is Alan Bennett’s ‘The Lady in the Van’, directed by Philip de Glanville.
He says, “When I tell people that we are doing The Lady in the Van, I am impressed by the number of them whose faces light up in recognition, and the large percentage who express approval – most of them, I would guess, because they remember the film, and in particular Maggie Smith’s extraordinary performance, with such admiration and affection.
“I missed the film when it came out a couple of years ago, and until recently have resisted watching it because I wanted to make up my own mind about how we should interpret Alan Bennett’s script. But now, having watched it, and having been moved to tears at one point, I realise that the play has just as much humour, as well as a quite extraordinary poignancy, to offer, and I am excited to think we are poised to produce something really exceptional at the Merlin in late April.”
Frome Drama Club say, “Essentially the play is about how one day in 1974 a rather smelly reclusive lady, calling herself Mary Shepherd, drove her van into Alan Bennett’s garden in Camden and stayed there, in his driveway, until her death in 1989. There were hints that she might once have been a child prodigy at the piano, that she had studied in France, and that she had failed eventually in her bid to become a nun. Moreover, she harboured a guilty secret.
“And Alan Bennett fell hopeless under the sway of this 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,”
“The role of The Lady – Miss Shepherd, is played by Bozsi Davis and she skilfully manages to avoid doing a “Maggie impersonation”, while producing a real character of such exceptional individuality and single-mindedness that one cannot help but warm to her, despite her extraordinary rudeness and complete self-absorption.
“There are two Alan Bennetts on stage throughout, which is a little odd, but interesting. The one Bennett wrote as himself, played by Alan Burgess, is rather plaintive, desperately ’nice’, and woefully guilt-ridden. The other – his alter ego – played by Richard Thomas, is deliciously cynical and self-serving – everything we think the author would secretly like to be, but daren’t.
“There is a terrific supporting cast – Laurie Parnell and Sue Ross play the NIMBY neighbours with great gusto, Leslie Swinburn is Alan Bennett’s increasingly frail Mam, Fiona Puleston the irritating but well-meaning social worker, David Gatliffe the sinister Underwood, Robert O’Farrell doubles as Mam’s doctor and as Leo Fairchild, Ed Henderson has recently joined the team as a Lout and an Ambulance Driver, and very welcome newcomer to FDC, Liz Hollis, plays the Interviewer and Miss Shepherd’s GP.
“It is an extremely unconventional play and requires a pretty unconventional approach.”
Philip added, “I am delighted with the way rehearsals are going however, and the cast seem to be very much enjoying our interpretation of the script, which offers lots of laughter, a few surprising tears, and an extraordinarily dramatic conclusion. We think Frome audiences are going to love this play.”
The Lady in the Van by Alan Bennett is at The Merlin Theatre 26th – 28th April.
Tickets are £10 (concessions £8) from the box office on 01373 465949 or on line at www.merlintheatre .co.uk
