Picture from Liverpool Live
Cast: Nicola McAuliffe, Paul Kemp, James Holmes, Tina Gambe, Emma Gregory, Fiz Marcus, Benedict Sandiford, Martin Wimbush, Janet Harrison.
From the mind of one of the most unique of British playwrights, comes one of the most fascinating pieces of theatre to have been envisaged and produced and given that certain inspired finish that only Yorkshire born Alan Bennett can write is the play The Lady in the Van.
Into Alan’s life in the then quiet part of Camden came Mary Sheppard who had progressively and steadily moved her van down the road he lived upon until one day and seemingly against everything Alan could muster to object to it, Mary became part of his life and stayed, in his garden, in her van, until the day she passed on, some 15 years later.
To play the part of someone living and with the calibre of love that he holds in the nations hearts for his deadpan style takes a very brave man and in the case of this particular play, two very brave men in the form Paul Kemp and James Holmes who captured the mannerisms, pithy comebacks and gentleness that Alan Bennett has shown to his audiences all his life. To have two Alans on stage, a much younger, naive, more tolerant version and the worldlier wise and sardonic Alan could have been confusing, however in the hands of these two fine actors and the excellent Director Sarah Esdaile, any effort the audience may have found in following the rapport between the two men dissipated very early on.
The lady in question was portrayed with an abundance of skill and certain panache by Nichola McAuliffe who showed the gradual decline, physically, emotionally and mentally in a very professional and loving way.
The relationship between the playwright and the tramp was highlighted with by the decline in his own mother’s health as she battled depression in her life. To show the two women in his life as a mirror into the soul and thoughts of the man can only be a testament to the power of the writer’s imagination and the courage it takes for a playwright to show his own life into that same, damning mirror.
A fascinating look into the domestic side of Alan Bennett and one that will only enhance the man’s ability to produce plays that portray the real in real life.
Ian D. Hall