The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh 9th October 2026 Review
photo credit Mihaela Bodlovic.
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie is at the Lyceum Theatre from Friday 02 to Sunday 18 October and, as to be expected, this production by National Theatre Scotland was a busy night for the theatre.
Taking a classic novel like "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie” by Muriel Spark is always going to present problems when adapting it to another format, in this case the stage, and particularly so here when the original story is not one easily suited to the linear time and dialogue driven requirements of a play like this. Add into this the fact that this book and its characters are so special to generations of people, and many of them will have clear expectations already of how they want them to be portrayed on stage.
Another complication is the now classic 1969 film adaptation of this book starring Maggie Smith in the title role of Miss Brodie. For many people, Maggie Smith IS Miss Jean Brodie. To a lesser degree the same could be said of the 1978 television series starring Geraldine McEwan as Miss Brodie.
If you have only seen the film, but not read the book, then be prepared for things to be a little different here as that film made more than a few changes to the original book’s story line and its characters. This production, written by David Harrower and directed by Vicky Featherstone, whilst making some its own changes, stays far closer to the original source material.
Everything in this production (or any production of this book) is ultimately going to rest upon who is playing the role of Miss Brodie, and so much of this ones success is down to Gayle Rankin in this role. Here, that difficult task of not only bringing an iconic character to life, but doing it in a way that is original and still identifiable is accomplished in style by Gayle Rankin. Miss Brodie is always and will probably always be an enigma, as she is such a multi-faceted person, and depending upon your point of view, can be seen as a guiding light to her girls or a clever manipulator of them. Brodie’s love of fascism and Mussolini in particular can with hindsight, taken out of its time-frame, be seen as delusional. Could Miss Brodie‘s love of art and beauty above so much else ever prepare her girls for the reality of the world outside of the school?
In her portrayal of Miss Brodie, Gayle Rankin also gives us a woman who has never really come to terms with the loss of a love that she lost in the Great War of 1914-1918, a woman who is always fighting for her and her girls’ individuality. This Miss Brodie may be in her mind in her prime, but she is also very insecure and at times paranoid about many of the other teaching staff around her, and keeping her job as a teacher.
A lot of the dynamics between Miss Brodie and her girls come from her favourite, Sandy Stranger, and here, Bobby Rainsbury gives a good performance, both as a pupil and an adult. There is often this sharp edge between the two of them that leaves so much unspoken.
Other strong performances from Maureen Beattie (Miss Mackay), Dyfan Dwyfor (Teddy Lloyd) and Brian Ferguson (Gordon Lowther) make this production one which allows this classic story and character to be viewed from a fresh perspective.
Review by Tom King (c) 2026
www.artsreviewsedinburgh.com
Taking a classic novel like "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie” by Muriel Spark is always going to present problems when adapting it to another format, in this case the stage, and particularly so here when the original story is not one easily suited to the linear time and dialogue driven requirements of a play like this. Add into this the fact that this book and its characters are so special to generations of people, and many of them will have clear expectations already of how they want them to be portrayed on stage.
Another complication is the now classic 1969 film adaptation of this book starring Maggie Smith in the title role of Miss Brodie. For many people, Maggie Smith IS Miss Jean Brodie. To a lesser degree the same could be said of the 1978 television series starring Geraldine McEwan as Miss Brodie.
If you have only seen the film, but not read the book, then be prepared for things to be a little different here as that film made more than a few changes to the original book’s story line and its characters. This production, written by David Harrower and directed by Vicky Featherstone, whilst making some its own changes, stays far closer to the original source material.
Everything in this production (or any production of this book) is ultimately going to rest upon who is playing the role of Miss Brodie, and so much of this ones success is down to Gayle Rankin in this role. Here, that difficult task of not only bringing an iconic character to life, but doing it in a way that is original and still identifiable is accomplished in style by Gayle Rankin. Miss Brodie is always and will probably always be an enigma, as she is such a multi-faceted person, and depending upon your point of view, can be seen as a guiding light to her girls or a clever manipulator of them. Brodie’s love of fascism and Mussolini in particular can with hindsight, taken out of its time-frame, be seen as delusional. Could Miss Brodie‘s love of art and beauty above so much else ever prepare her girls for the reality of the world outside of the school?
In her portrayal of Miss Brodie, Gayle Rankin also gives us a woman who has never really come to terms with the loss of a love that she lost in the Great War of 1914-1918, a woman who is always fighting for her and her girls’ individuality. This Miss Brodie may be in her mind in her prime, but she is also very insecure and at times paranoid about many of the other teaching staff around her, and keeping her job as a teacher.
A lot of the dynamics between Miss Brodie and her girls come from her favourite, Sandy Stranger, and here, Bobby Rainsbury gives a good performance, both as a pupil and an adult. There is often this sharp edge between the two of them that leaves so much unspoken.
Other strong performances from Maureen Beattie (Miss Mackay), Dyfan Dwyfor (Teddy Lloyd) and Brian Ferguson (Gordon Lowther) make this production one which allows this classic story and character to be viewed from a fresh perspective.
Review by Tom King (c) 2026
www.artsreviewsedinburgh.com