Sarah Mann (Fe. 1985-87) brings "Lady in the Van" to the BOAT

Posted by System Administrator on 28 Apr 2021

Modified by System Administrator on 24 May 2021

“When Miss Shepherd drove her van into my garden in 1974 friends used to ask me if I was planning to write a play about her. I wasn’t, but 25 years later I did.”- Alan Bennett.  

"Lady in the Van" is a funny and poignant tale about the generosity of the human spirit (possibly). Alan Bennett described his memoir of living next to Miss Shepherd as "a mostly true story"...

This will be one of the first shows performed in Hove after the third lockdown, and the first play listed in The Brighton Fringe Festival 2021. Sarah talked about the show in the Brighton and Hove Independent: how the events of the past year have bought Miss Shepherd's story more keenly into focus and how "what we wanted was a play about human compassion and about looking after other people.”

"Lady in the Van" is being performed at the BOAT from Wednesday 26th – Saturday 29th May at 7 pm, with matinees on Thursday and Saturday at 2 pm.

Tickets are available via the Brighton Open Air Theatre website