Sara Kestelman stars as one of drama’s most extraordinary characters as she plays the eccentric Miss Shepherd in a brand new production of Alan Bennett’s wonderfully funny and poignant drama The Lady in the Van at the Theatre Royal Bath from 17^th August.

What are you most relishing about playing Miss Shepherd?

[Laughs] I don’t think I ever use the word ‘relish’; it’s not a word that comes into my vocabulary in terms of work, but I happened to live in Gloucester Crescent, the street where the story is set, from 1969 to 1972 so I saw Miss Shepherd all the time and I’m fascinated to have the opportunity to explore her character now, never having imagined in a million years that her story would be told on stage and at some point I would be asked to play her.

It’s such an iconic role. How would you describe your take on the character?

I observed Miss Shepherd quite closely and I have a strong image and memory of her. [Director] Jonathan Church and myself were most fortunate in being able to visit the Bodleian Library at Oxford University, where Alan Bennett has very generously donated all of his papers, and he included Miss Shepherd’s papers as well.  All the material was fascinating and very moving and neither Jonathan nor I had imagined Miss Shepherd had written so much. Some of it is handwritten and some she wrote on an old typewriter. She was clearly an incredibly well-educated woman and even though she might have had difficulties in her social life and social interaction she was extremely opinionated and very knowledgeable about a lot of things. Politically she had very strong views about the Common Market, for instance, and she was very right wing. Also she was profoundly religious and profoundly spiritual and then there was her relationship with music, which had been so important for her as a young woman training to become a concert pianist, although there was struggle and conflict for her between music and her religion. The convent she went into as a novice nun forced her to give up music. This was tragic in a way. She had to make some huge choices, in the end leaving the convent and starting her somewhat nomadic life. But she remained defined by her religion and music continued to touch her profoundly. Her faith kept her optimistic, I think. She was able to turn things around, be very positive in her life, proactive, inventive, determined even in this rather strange nomadic gypsy existence living on the street in her van.

Are there qualities in her you can relate to?

I’m profoundly touched by music, as she was, although unlike her, I’m not a musician. I find music can take me to wonderful places and also to painful places so there’s a strong connection there, but I don’t have a religious background so that’s an aspect of her character I have to imagine and create. She’s not a poet but there’s something quite poetical about her, and that resonates with me.

Being an actor, can you also relate to the nomadic side of her?

[Laughs] I was never really a tent person, I was more of a hotel girl, but I did have a boyfriend at one time who lived in a rather super Bedford van which had a section of the roof that lifted up so you were able to stand and cook and there was a tent you could attach to the side. We did do some travelling around in that, but I must say it’s not really my thing!

Have you done any research into homelessness to prepare for the role?

I live near Finsbury Park and at the moment there are quite a number of homeless people living underneath the bridge, passing them each day I notice how they switch themselves off.  Self-protection. But Miss Shepherd didn’t switch herself off. She kept herself very switched on until she became ill. She was indomitable and brave. She managed to cope with the number of physical things that were wrong with her, determined not to let them bring her down. She had tremendous resources, I think. She was a remarkable woman.

Is that what makes her such a fascinating character for audiences?

I think what makes the play fascinating for audiences is the extraordinary mix of this eccentric, single-minded, really pretty selfish woman being ‘taken on’ and sheltered by the remarkable and some might say foolhardy generosity of Alan Bennett, with his invitation to park her van in his driveway, and then the astonishing length of time that she continued to live there, fifteen years, and the constancy of his tender and long suffering interest and care. The relationship that developed between them is funny and touching and endearing and utterly unique. It’s such an extraordinary concept. She was just shy of 6ft tall in real life and she took up a lot of space. It wasn’t just the smell that kept people at bay, she was more than a little intimidating. She was intriguing and maddening and caught up in some odd and grandiose notions, but she was also very much her own person. And that makes her fascinating.

Do you enjoy being able to leave your vanity in the dressing room when it comes to a role like this?

[Laughs] Well, I’ve played a lot of very much older women in my career, but particularly in recent years I’ve played some extremely old characters. I played a woman in 4000 Miles, at the Ustinov Studio, who was 92 and toothless.

If a ‘Miss Shepherd’ parked up on your drive how would you handle the situation?

I’m afraid I would be moving her along. I would try to be helpful and offer her anything she needed. I hope I would have the compassion but one of the things I’ve noticed with homeless people is that in the understandable need to protect themselves there is sometimes a degree of aggression and I’m not sure I would have the patience or tolerance to sustain a relationship. Of course there’s also enormous pride involved. One of the questions that is put to Miss Shepherd in the play, which presumably was put to her in real life, is ‘How long have you lived in the van?’ and she immediately responds with: ‘What makes you think that I live there? I may stay there on occasion but it’s only a pied-a-terre.’

I was thinking about taking some clothes down to one of the homeless women at Finsbury Park but then I thought they’d be too big for her because she’s a tiny little person. I thought about shoes and then how could I ask her without seeming patronising? When she meets your eye her look is wary and tough, in the end I have done nothing. I feel a guilt to be honest and some shame. But to answer your question I would certainly not be inviting anybody into my drive, that’s for sure.

Have you worked with Alan Bennett before or met him?

I’ve never worked with Alan, no, but I’ve known him on and off over the years through Jonathan Miller [who was in Beyond the Fringe with Bennett] with whom I have worked and who is also a friend. Sometimes I bump into Alan in Camden Town and we’ll have a chat. Camden Town is a great part of my upbringing; my mother used to go to the market in Inverness Street, round the corner from Alan’s house, to buy all her fruit and vegetables every week.

What do you think makes him such a revered playwright?

He’s such a sensitive and witty observer of life, and the detail he records and puts into the mouths of his characters is unique. He touches you in a very poignant way – he makes you smile and he takes you deep. And the very specific attention he pays to stress and nuance and punctuation is a huge gift to the actor. He’s an absolute master of the English language and bringing character to life in the most personal, seemingly ordinary, but extraordinary way. I’ve always had enormous admiration for him as a writer, but studying this play closely, as I am, my admiration is soaring as I work on this wonderful text.

How is it working with director Jonathan Church?

Jonathan is a joy.  He creates a wonderful atmosphere in rehearsals – very relaxed and full of lovely little stories and anecdotes. [Laughs] But he’s no pushover. He’s got a very fine brain and he loves to interrogate the text in the most constructive and helpful and supportive way. He’s absolutely wonderful.

You’ve worked across film, TV and the stage. What do you most enjoy about the latter?

I suppose what’s most enjoyable about stage work is the rehearsal process where you have the luxury of time to explore together and develop with the director and fellow actors, researching and weaving a shared experience. Film can be a lonely process, choices very often having to be made quite quickly, which can be exciting but challenging. Television has become quite lonely too because it works very much like film, except you have to put more minutes on tape than you do with a film. It’s very exhausting and challenging. The creative process in the theatre allows time to dig and delve, and make some mistakes and explore a lot of choices.

You’ve played the Theatre Royal Bath on several occasions previously, including Another Time with Albert Finney in 1989, Three Tall Women with Maggie Smith in 1995 and 4000 Miles in 2013. What are your fondest or most vivid memories of performing there?

I think Ronald Harwood’s marvellous play Another Time was my first experience of playing the beautiful Theatre Royal. It was a very happy time. Then I did Three Tall Women with Maggie and also Samantha Bond. Later I was Gertrude to Simon Russell Beale’s Hamlet with the National Theatre, which we toured to Bath, and most recently there I played the fantastic character of Vera in 4000 Miles at the Ustinov Studio. 

You mentioned working with Maggie Smith, who played Miss Shepherd both on stage and in the film version. Have you avoided re-watching the film so you can give your own take on the character?

When I was asked if I would do the play I must confess I was both daunted and enormously honoured to be invited to take on this huge mantle. The shadow of the mountain I have to climb is long and in that shadow is Maggie of course. I saw her do it on stage when it was first done 18 years ago and I saw the film. I actually watched it again recently because I showed it to a friend paralysed by a stroke about whom I’ve made a documentary called ‘Yes, But That’s Not All!’ I wanted to show it to her so she’d know what I was about to do, otherwise I don’t think I would have sat down to watch it again but I’m glad that I did. I know a lot of people in the film so it was amusing to see everybody’s performances, Maggie is amazing of course, and it was most interesting to see the shift from stage to screen. The structure and dynamics of the stage play are both episodic and flowing, almost film like; tiny scenes sometimes only three or four sentences long segue into the next and that’s the challenge – to strike the authentic core of each small scene, each moment, keeping it fluid and detailed with depth and wit and truth. It could so easily appear to be a series of vignettes. It isn’t that at all. It’s very precise spotlights shone onto Miss Shepherd’s life, and her life with Alan Bennett, and his own life split in two facing himself with himself!

What are you most looking forward to about returning to the Theatre Royal Bath?

It’s a beautiful theatre and I love Bath. Literally my oldest friend – we were born in the same street in London within four months of each other – has lived in Bath for 30 years so I visit often and I love it. It’s a beautiful city with gorgeous shops. There’s a wonderful designer there called Carole Waller who it’s always very tempting to buy from!

 

Photo by and © Nobby Clark