To mark the centenary year of Muriel Spark’s birth, the Donmar Warehouse will present a new stage adaptation of the author’s iconic novel The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, adapted by Scottish playwright David Harrower and starring Lia Williams in the title role (playing from 4 June to 28 July 2018, press night is 12 June).
Alongside Williams will be rising talent Rona Morison, alongside a cast including Nicola Coughlan, Emma Hindle, Grace Saif, Sylvestra Le Touzel, Helena Wilson, Angus Wright and Kit Young.
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie will be directed by Polly Findlay who returns to the Donmar, following her acclaimed production of Limehouse.
Artistic director Josie Rourke said:
“In the centenary year of her birth, Muriel Spark’s iconic novel, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie has been adapted for the Donmar by leading playwright, David Harrower. It’s wonderful to have these two major Scottish voices join in concert on the Donmar stage.”
Bios
Lia Williams (Jean Brodie) returns to the Donmar Warehouse after starring in The Lover and The Collection. Her most recent theatre credits include Mary Stuart and Oresteia (Almeida and West End. Other theatre credits include The Revengers’ Comedies for which she was nominated for an Olivier for Best Comedy Performance, Old Times (West End), Arcadia and Skylight (National Theatre, West End and Broadway), Earthquakes in London, The Hothouse and Mappa Mundi (National Theatre), Oleanna, King Lear and My Child (Royal Court), The Homecoming (Gate Theatre, Dublin, West End and Broadway) and Celebration/The Room (Almeida and New York).
Nicola Coughlan (Joyce-Emily). Theatre credits include Jess and Joe Forever (Orange Tree Theatre, Traverse Theatre and Old Vic), Nadya (Park Theatre), Duck (Out of Joint) and Chapel Street (UK tour).
Emma Hindle (Mary) trained at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and makes her professional stage debut in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie.
Rona Morison’s (Sandy). Theatre work includes Dead Don’t Floss (National Theatre), Glory on Earth (Royal Lyceum Theatre), The Diary of a Teenage Girl (Southwark Playhouse), Julie (Northern Stage), The Crucible (Bristol Old Vic), Scuttlers (Royal Exchange, Manchester), The James Plays (National Theatre/National Theatre of Scotland), Anhedonia (Royal Court), To Kill a Mockingbird (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre), Illusions (Bush Theatre), The Second Mrs Tanqueray (Rose Theatre Kingston), and Crave (ATC).
Grace Saif (Monica). Previous theatre credits include Saint George and the Dragon (National Theatre) and Mary Stuart (Almeida).
Sylvestra Le Touzel (Miss Mackay) returns to the Donmar Warehouse after starring in Les Parents Terribles and Ivanov. Her other stage credits include Giving (Hampstead Theatre), Waste (National Theatre), The Audience (Stephen Daldry, Playful Productions), The Merry Wives of Windsor (RSC), Topless Mum (Tricycle Theatre), Wild East (Royal Court) Benefactors (Albery Theatre/tour) Hayfever (Savoy Theatre), A Midsummer’s Night Dream (Almeida Theatre) Les Enfants Du Paradis, Artists and Admirers, A Woman Killed with Kindness, Twelfth Night, Henry IV parts I & 11 (all RSC), An Inspector Calls (Aldwych Theatre), Imagine Drowning (Hampstead Theatre), The Illusion, Marya (both at The Old Vic), My Hearts a Suitcase, Ourselves Alone (both Royal Court).
Helena Wilson (Jenny) returns to the Donmar Warehouse after her performance in The Lady from the Sea. Theatre credits include Love Me Now (Tristan Bates Theatre), Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (The Old Vic), Romeo and Juliet (Thelma Holt International Tour), The Alchemist (OUDS National Tour), Breathing Corpses (Knack Kneed Theatre), The Architect (Hypnotist Theatre), Dahling, You Were Marvellous! (Burton Taylor Studio), Lord of the Flies (O’Reilly Theatre), Slag (Burton Taylor Studio) and Cabaret (Robinson Theatre).
Angus Wright (Gordon Lowther). Recent credits include Hamlet (Almeida and Harold Pinter Theatre), 1984 (Playhouse Theatre), Oresteia (Almeida and Trafalgar Studios), and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Almeida). Other theatre credits include The Cherry Orchard (Young Vic), Twelfth Night and Richard III (Shakespeare’s Globe on Broadway), Privates on Parade (Michael Grandage Company), The Master and Margarita (Complicite), The Cat in The Hat (National Theatre and Young Vic), Wastwater (Royal Court), Design for Living (Old Vic), The Merchant of Venice, Hamlet, Talk of the City, The Theban Plays, The Dybbuk, Henry IV parts i & ii (all RSC), Measure for Measure (Complicite and National Theatre), Mrs Affleck, War Horse, Saint Joan, The Seagull, Dream Play, Stuff Happens, Three Sisters, Chips with Everything and Mother Courage (all National Theatre).
Kit Young (The Journalist). Theatre credits include Julius Caesar (Bridge Theatre), The Real Thing (Theatre Royal Bath) and The Extraordinary Cabaret Of Dorian Gray (Underbelly Theatre).
At Marcia Blaine School for Girls, Miss Jean Brodie presides over her ‘set’, her chosen few. In return for their absolute devotion, Miss Brodie will provide an education far beyond the confines of the curriculum. Great teachers leave a mark. Miss Jean Brodie’s will never be erased.
In the creative team are: designer Lizzie Clachan, lighting designer Charles Balfour, sound designer Paul Arditti, movement director Naomi Said and composition by Marc Tritschler.
