The Lady in the Van The Lady in the Van The Lady in the Van is a 2015 British comedy-drama film directed by Nicholas Hytner, and starring Maggie Smith and Alex Jennings, based on the novel of the same name created by Alan Bennett. It was written by Alan Bennett, and it tells the (mostly) true story of his interactions with Mary Shepherd, an elderly woman who lived in a dilapidated van on his driveway in London for 15 years. He had previously published the story as a 1989 essay, 1990 book, 1999 stage play, and 2009 radio play on BBC Radio 4. Smith had
The Lady in the Van his increasingly invalid mother. Though he denies "caring" for anyone, he slowly becomes aware of his growing friendship with Miss Shepherd. After coming home early from a day centre he sent her to, she dies peacefully in her sleep in her van. Alan decides to write a memoir covering the years he's known her. In 2014, the real Bennett is shown observing this film's final scene as it's shot: his younger self unveiling a plaque on his home dedicated to "The Lady in the Van". The principal cast of Bennett's 2006 film "The History Boys" appear in cameo roles, with