The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie – Lyceum Theatre
The National Theatre of Scotland’s new expressionistic production of ‘The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie’ is a magnificent theatrical gem.
Since the 1960s, theatre audiences have enjoyed the Jay Presson Allen adaptation of Muriel Spark’s iconic novel. That features an eccentric but lovable teacher in 1930s Edinburgh, and her influence on the young girls in her care. Vanessa Redgrave played Brodie in the 1966 West End production but turned down the part for the 1969 film version, allowing Maggie Smith to step in and claim her first Oscar.
David Harrower is only the second writer to be allowed to adapt the novel, receiving permission from Muriel Spark herself shortly before her death in 2006. Harrower’s adaptation, which premiered at London’s Donmar Warehouse in 2018, and has been rev...