Seeing shows on the West End have been big and outstanding performances that I knew were going to knock my socks off but having one of our assignments being to see a fringe show, which is more of an “off-off-West End” show, I could experience a more intimate and experimental performance. During our Stratford-upon-Avon three day stay, a small group of us who had yet to see their fringe show looked and discovered one playing at a community theatre that was only a five-minute walk from where we were staying. We got some of the last tickets that were on sale and had our final show of the trip booked on our first night in Shakespeare’s old village.
We walked over together to see the show, which was titled, The Lady in the Van. We found out that this play was also a movie that starred Maggie Smith, who I love as an actress, so I was very interested. This show also came with a program which was a pleasant surprise as none of the show we had seen on the West End would give them to you for free. The program listed several songs in the play that I loved and got excited to hear including songs by the Beatles as well as classical piano songs.
This play takes place over the course of several years covering a homeless woman who lived out of her van and became friends with the man who she lived across from. The man was played by two men one of whom lived in the present and one who was writing this story down and narrating how he felt in the past by these events and even sometimes communicating with himself as a sort of inner voice. I thought the actors did a great job, although some of the choices made by the director I was a little puzzled by like the actors, when changing scenes, would freeze in a pose until the transition song was gone, which made it confusing for the audience as to why wouldn’t they just wait entirely to start the scene. I thought the story was very touching and sweet as well as inspiring.
Theatre in London U of A 