Rep Talk: The Lady in the Van a repertory project 14 Mar, 2021 09:58 PM 2 minutes to read Maggie Smith and Alex Jennings in a scene from Alan Bennett's The Lady In The Van. Photo / Getty Images Maggie Smith and Alex Jennings in a scene from Alan Bennett's The Lady In The Van. Photo / Getty Images The line between tragedy and comedy is often very thin indeed and so it is with Miss Shepherd, the somewhat deluded, sad character who is the Lady in the Van. Our play reading group had a really hilarious evening reading Alan Bennett's play, based on the real story of the elderly lady who lived in a van in his street, eventually driving it into his front garden where she remained for 15 years.