THE LADY IN THE VAN: Bennett: Salisbury Playhouse to 26th September 2009
Salisbury.
THE LADY IN THE VAN
by Alan Bennett.
Salisbury Playhouse To 26 September 2009.
Mon-Wed 7.30pm Thur-Sat 8pm Mat 10/17/19/24/26 Sept 2.30 pm.
Audio described 24 Sept 2.30pm and 8 pm.
BSL Signed 23 September. Runs 2hr 50min One interval.
TICKETS: 01722 32033.
www.salisburyplayhouse.com
Review Mark Courtice 4 September.
Overstaying her welcome.
Alan Bennett invited Miss Shepherd to park her Bedford van home in his drive for 3 months and she stayed 15 years. She was not an easy neighbour, being smelly, quarrelsome and b-minded.
What Bennett saw in her was (he cheerfully admits) something to write about, as well as an echo of his mother succumbing to her own demons in Yorkshire (he finds this less easy to recognise).
It was also a nice thing to do; Bennett denies being nice, though we know he is. There is however a hint that he rather enjoys annoying his property-price aware neighbours with a proxy far more tiresome than he would ever dare be.
She's a magnet for yobs, stays one jump ahead of social workers and the DVLA, and bullies everyone except a sinister, blackmailing visitor. She has obviously had a more exciting past than Bennett.
Bennett appears as two versions of himself; one deals with the messy business of life, the other makes notes and provides an ironic commentary. Peter Temple and Malcolm James both get the Dead Ringers aspects of this right, although the conceit doesn't reveal much about the man himself.
Marlene Sidaway creates a central character who’s imperious, demanding and fascinating at the same time. She also makes good use of the opportunities for pathos and vulnerability as she prays at the back of the van, or worries about the "Suzie Wong" (pong).
Director Sarah Punshon takes the production at a leisurely pace. It's set in front of the bare back walls of an open Salisbury stage, which the cast people with yobs, social workers and Camden neighbours with unobtrusive skill. The play's West End antecedents are underlined by the big-budget real vans and car that appear on stage. Jason Taylor's lighting is both effective and sensitive.
In the end though, Alan Bennett lives next to a tiresome old lady, life goes on, some secrets from her past are abruptly revealed after her death by a pair of dei ex machina - and despite some theatrical big tricks, not much actually happens in two and three quarter hours.
Miss Shepherd: Marlene Sidaway.
Alan Bennett: Malcolm James.
Alan Bennett 2: Peter Temple.
Mam: Ann Penfold.
Underwood/Fairchild: Robert Calvert.
Pauline/Mam's Doctor: Hilary Tones.
Rufus/Miss Shepherd's Doctor: James Duke.
Social Worker/Interviewer: Nicola Alexis.
Director: Sarah Punshon.
Designer: Colin Richmond.
Lighting: Jason Taylor.
2009-09-06 12:50:22