There's very little in the substance of [THE LADY IN THE VAN] which is not fact though some adjustments have had to be made. Over the years Miss Shepherd was visited by a succession of social workers so the character in the play is a composite figure. . . . A composite too are the neighbours, Pauline and Rufus, though I have made Rufus a publisher in remembrance of my neighbour, the late Colin Haycraft, the proprietor of Duckworth's.
Alan BennettAll the effort went into getting there and then I had nothing left. I thought I'd got somewhere, then I found I had to go on.
Alan BennettArt comes out of art; it begins with imitation, often in the form of parody, and it's in the process of imitating the voice of others that one comes to learn the sound of one's own.
Alan BennettIf I am doing nothing, I like to be doing nothing to some purpose. That is what leisure means.
Alan Bennett