Maggie Smith stars in the latest Alan Bennett adaptation.
The first official image for the upcoming The Lady in the Van (2015) has appeared online. Written by Alan Bennett (as well as adapted from his celebrated memoir) and directed by his long-time collaborator Nicholas Hytner, the film sees Academy Award winning British star Maggie Smith playing Miss Shepherd, an eccentric elderly lady who, in real life, lived in a car parked across Bennett’s driveway.
Based on the burgeoning relationship shared between the two, the film sees Bennett visualising a chapter in his life that lasted for 15 years, where the relationship he shares with this ostensible vagrant builds into something funny and life affirming. British star Alex Jennings is playing the role of Bennett.
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Partly filmed on the street and in the house where Bennett actually lived, The Lady in the Van is currently still in production and won’t arrive for another year, though it is being made with a considerable amount of talent behind it.
About his role as director, Hytner says: “It is a privilege to bring this extraordinary story to the big screen and to share it with cinema audiences around the world.” His previous collaboration with playwright, screenwriter, actor and author Bennett was the screen adaptation of The History Boys (2006).
The cast is made up of Frances de la Tour, Jim Broadbent, Deborah Findlay, Roger Allam, Gwen Taylor and James Corden
The Lady in the Van is being produced by BBC Films and TriStar Pictures and will be released in UK cinemas on 13th November 2015.
Words by Ed Frost
