ALAN Bennett is flavour of the month right now. There's a new play at The National and a whole retrospective weekend on the TV.

So it seems timely to be reminded of his genius for bittersweet comedy with the hugely entertaining The Lady In The Van which was performed at The Court Theatre, Tring by the Pendley Theatre Company.

This was one of the most professional productions I've ever seen of this engrossing play and stood shoulder to shoulder with a major touring version that appeared at Milton Keynes Theatre a few years back starring Susan Hampshire.

It's a fascinating story which, until it took to the stage, was probably largely unknown outside Camden where it took place. It's made even more compelling because it is true (for the most part).

Bennett lived in a trendy liberal north London suburb that boasted an extraordinary vagabond. Arriving one day in a broken down old van, Miss Shepherd was an enigma. No-one knew where she came from, who she was or even if Miss Shepherd was her real name (it wasn't).

The eccentric, who made a hand-to-mouth living selling pencils and religious tracts, stank of urine and lavender and was prone to outbursts of aggression.

She eventually parked up her "home" in the writer's front garden and stayed there for 15 turbulent years. Goaded and bullied by local yobs, haunted by the past, it wasn't until her eventual death that her whole sorry history was revealed.

But until that moment she acted as Bennett's lab rat, a work in progress that gifted him a tale for one of his most successful plays to date.

His biggest stumbling block had been how to tell the story when he was both its subject and its narrator and the Yorkshireman eventually came up with a cunning solution.

Pendley's cast did the dramatist proud. Liz Edlin, who has appeared at The Court Theatre in Shirley Valentine, Kafka's Dick and One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, was inspired as the crusty old dame.

Edlin's character bristled with indignation as she attempted to hold onto a spark of dignity amid the crumbling of her health, her bowels and her sanity. It was a wonderfully scatty and heartfelt performance that switched from comedy to pathos often in the same, beautifully delivered, line. The actress made a thoroughly convincing tramp and constantly stole the spotlight from her fellow cast members.

Dave Barrett (so good in the theatre's other recent Bennett play, The History Boys) excelled as Bennett the narrator and writer, capturing both the accent and style of the man.

His co-conspirator, Bob Theaker, echoed the same dry wit and deceptively dour personality of the playwright (though neither bore any resemblance to the man) as the pair often came head-to-head, like a character with a split personality, in a scene.

Director Bill Oram never let the pace drop from the story's beginnings, when neighbours of Gloucester Crescent noted Miss S's arrival, until the denouement and big reveal.

Lines were delivered with real sparkle and excellent timing by everyone in the production, including the hard-working extras who often took on more than one role.

Next up from the company will be one night of Yasmina Reza's superb, award-winning play, Art, on February 18, followed by Alan Ayckbourn's Table Manners in March. I can't wait.

Tickets are available from the box office 01442 823130 or online www.thecourttheatre.co.uk