The Lady In The Van screenings make way to Los Angeles and New York.
The Lady in the Van, Alan Bennett’s adaptation of his commercial and critical West End hit is now playing in New York and Los Angeles. Dame Maggie Smith reprises one of her most-loved stage roles for the big screen under the direction of Nicholas Hytner.
The film depicts the story of Alan Bennett’s strained friendship with Miss Mary Shepherd. Miss Shepherd is an eccentric woman of uncertain origins, who “temporarily” parked her broken down van in Bennett’s London driveway and preceded to live there for the next fifteen years.
Alex Jennings, who plays Bennett, joins Dame Maggie Smith who plays Miss Shepherd. Others in the cast include Frances de la Tour, Roger Allam, Dominic Cooper, Jim Broadbent, and James Corden.
Bennett is a celebrated playwright, screenwriter, actor, and author who is considered a national literary treasure in England. Over the course of his 50 year plus career, he has won or been nominated for every major writing award in film, television, and theatre.
The film was directed by Nicholas Hytner, which marks his first directorial outing after ending his successful decade at the head of the British National Theatre. He is among the preeminent theatrical creators of his generation, with having directed standouts as Miss Saigon, Stuff Happens, and One Man.
