CLSG The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
Clio&Polyhymnia
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Clio&Polyhymnia - The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, directed by Sophia Broido and Julia Hicks.
On November 25-27th, CLSG presented the school with an adaptation of the story of Miss Jean Brodie, “a fascist school teacher” that sets out to transform a group of girls at her school into the “crème de la crème”. The cast, which consisted of a mere ten actors, presented the story with an eerie realism that included believable romantic elements, seamless scene changes, and unexpectedly convincing Scottish accents. Anna Prime, who took the lead role as Miss Jean Brodie herself, was able to master this dialect in the space of a few weeks, so that when the play was finally presented, I could have actually believed that she was a true Scot.
Her talent and professional approach to the roles more difficult demands made the play a wonderful spectacle, and the subtle interweaving of the present – the story of Ms Perry (Laura Pearl) and Sister Helena (Katie Biltoo) – with the flashbacks, which formed the bulk of the play gave the production an intriguing edge. Although the primary story of Ms Perry’s interview of Sister Helena was not the main topic, it allowed the play to progress in a constant flow and provided the mystery that held the audience’s interest. When Sister Helena claims that “Miss Jean Brodie was assassinated”, she appeals to our curiosity. Who assassinated her? How and why was she killed?
Each of the characters played their parts splendidly, and the true nature of Jean Brodie is hidden until the final act, when her influence over the girls finally takes effect. At the start of the play, they had been nine years old, and by the end, they are young women of 16, with resonant personalities that move the play towards a not entirely unexpected end. The fates of Mary McGregor (Caroline Brice), Monica (Olivia Stewart), the beautiful Jenny (Ginny Guy) and Sandy (Ellie Nairne) show the strength of each of their personalities; their weaknesses, their strengths, their faults, and the ideas that Miss Brodie’s education has nurtured within them.
The dramatic finale between Sandy and Miss Brodie questions the teacher’s radical ideas, and places Prime and Nairne in the difficult position of having to deal with the representation of true emotion. Love, romance and sexuality have already been explored through the characters of Gordon Lowther (Frank Carson) and Teddy Lloyd (Daniel Stathis), rivals for Miss Brodie’s affections, and gave convincing representations of the strained emotions that were involved in each relationship, however I felt that the tense and almost palpable atmosphere of the final scenes were the highlights of the play. Hidden truths were revealed, and ideals were destroyed. Yes, Miss Jean Brodie was assassinated, and everything in her performance reflected this.
The various theatrical techniques that were used by the producers were professional to the last; scene and prop changes were seamless, with the backstage crew arranging the various examples furniture with practised ease that never disturbed the progress of the performance. The lighting and sound, as arranged by Siân Thomas aided the dramatic insight that the audience had, and added significance to what might have otherwise have been a bland speech with great aspirations or an embarrassing moment of silence as the scenes were changed.
Congratulations to (cast:) Laura Pearl, Katie Biltoo, Anna Prime, Ellie Nairne, Ginny Guy, Olivia Stewart, Caroline Brice, Kate Rosin, Frank Carson, Daniel Stathis, (prop co-ordinator:) Becky Trompeter, (backstage/front of house:) Angela Applegate, Sarah Hedley, Lucy Mason, Becky Trompeter, Julia Vaci, (lighting and sound:) Siân Thomas.
The cast and crew also thank Steve Morley, Jane Paton, Sharon Ben-Hur, Fliss Winkley, Jennifer and Bill Hicks, and Isabelle and Jonathan Broido.
Play originally presented by Jay Presson Allan, as adapted from the novel by Muriel Spark.
On November 25-27th, CLSG presented the school with an adaptation of the story of Miss Jean Brodie, “a fascist school teacher” that sets out to transform a group of girls at her school into the “crème de la crème”. The cast, which consisted of a mere ten actors, presented the story with an eerie realism that included believable romantic elements, seamless scene changes, and unexpectedly convincing Scottish accents. Anna Prime, who took the lead role as Miss Jean Brodie herself, was able to master this dialect in the space of a few weeks, so that when the play was finally presented, I could have actually believed that she was a true Scot.
Her talent and professional approach to the roles more difficult demands made the play a wonderful spectacle, and the subtle interweaving of the present – the story of Ms Perry (Laura Pearl) and Sister Helena (Katie Biltoo) – with the flashbacks, which formed the bulk of the play gave the production an intriguing edge. Although the primary story of Ms Perry’s interview of Sister Helena was not the main topic, it allowed the play to progress in a constant flow and provided the mystery that held the audience’s interest. When Sister Helena claims that “Miss Jean Brodie was assassinated”, she appeals to our curiosity. Who assassinated her? How and why was she killed?
Each of the characters played their parts splendidly, and the true nature of Jean Brodie is hidden until the final act, when her influence over the girls finally takes effect. At the start of the play, they had been nine years old, and by the end, they are young women of 16, with resonant personalities that move the play towards a not entirely unexpected end. The fates of Mary McGregor (Caroline Brice), Monica (Olivia Stewart), the beautiful Jenny (Ginny Guy) and Sandy (Ellie Nairne) show the strength of each of their personalities; their weaknesses, their strengths, their faults, and the ideas that Miss Brodie’s education has nurtured within them.
The dramatic finale between Sandy and Miss Brodie questions the teacher’s radical ideas, and places Prime and Nairne in the difficult position of having to deal with the representation of true emotion. Love, romance and sexuality have already been explored through the characters of Gordon Lowther (Frank Carson) and Teddy Lloyd (Daniel Stathis), rivals for Miss Brodie’s affections, and gave convincing representations of the strained emotions that were involved in each relationship, however I felt that the tense and almost palpable atmosphere of the final scenes were the highlights of the play. Hidden truths were revealed, and ideals were destroyed. Yes, Miss Jean Brodie was assassinated, and everything in her performance reflected this.
The various theatrical techniques that were used by the producers were professional to the last; scene and prop changes were seamless, with the backstage crew arranging the various examples furniture with practised ease that never disturbed the progress of the performance. The lighting and sound, as arranged by Siân Thomas aided the dramatic insight that the audience had, and added significance to what might have otherwise have been a bland speech with great aspirations or an embarrassing moment of silence as the scenes were changed.
Congratulations to (cast:) Laura Pearl, Katie Biltoo, Anna Prime, Ellie Nairne, Ginny Guy, Olivia Stewart, Caroline Brice, Kate Rosin, Frank Carson, Daniel Stathis, (prop co-ordinator:) Becky Trompeter, (backstage/front of house:) Angela Applegate, Sarah Hedley, Lucy Mason, Becky Trompeter, Julia Vaci, (lighting and sound:) Siân Thomas.
The cast and crew also thank Steve Morley, Jane Paton, Sharon Ben-Hur, Fliss Winkley, Jennifer and Bill Hicks, and Isabelle and Jonathan Broido.
Play originally presented by Jay Presson Allan, as adapted from the novel by Muriel Spark.
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