The Lady in the Van | |
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![]() Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | Nicholas Hytner |
Screenplay by | Alan Bennett |
Based on | The Lady in the Van by Alan Bennett |
Produced by |
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Starring | |
Cinematography | Andrew Dunn |
Edited by | Tariq Anwar |
Music by | George Fenton |
Production companies | |
Distributed by | Sony Pictures Releasing International[1] |
Release dates |
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Running time | 104 minutes[2] |
Country | United Kingdom[3] |
Language | English |
Budget | $6 million[4] |
Box office | $41.4 million[5] |
The Lady in the Van is a 2015 British[3] comedy-drama film directed by Nicholas Hytner, and starring Maggie Smith and Alex Jennings, based on the memoir of the same name created by Alan Bennett.
It was written by Bennett, and it tells the (mostly[6]) true story of his interactions with Mary Shepherd, an elderly woman who lived in a dilapidated van on his driveway in north London for 15 years.[citation needed] 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 previously portrayed Shepherd twice: in the 1999 stage play, which earned her a Best Actress nomination at the 2000 Olivier Awards,[7] and in the 2009 radio adaptation.[8]
Hytner directed the 1999 stage play at the Queen's Theatre in London. The film was shown in the Special Presentations section of the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival[9] and received largely positive reviews from critics.