The National Theatre of Scotland has completed casting for its new production of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, starring Gayle Rankin in the title role. The tour opens at the Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh in October and marks both a homecoming for Rankin and the first Scottish staging of David Harrower’s revised adaptation.

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, adapted by David Harrower from Muriel Spark’s novel, will begin its run at the Royal Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh following previews from 2 October and an official opening on 9 October. The production tours to the Citizens Theatre in Glasgow, His Majesty’s Theatre in Aberdeen, and Pitlochry Festival Theatre until 7 November.

Gayle Rankin stars as the charismatic teacher Jean Brodie, returning to Edinburgh where she first appeared as a schoolgirl in the 2003 Royal Lyceum production of the play. Rankin is joined by Maureen Beattie as Miss MacKay, Liberty Black as Mary Macgregor, Dyfan Dwyfor as Teddy Lloyd, Brian Ferguson as Gordon Lowther, Sophie Fortune as Joyce Emily, Tallulah Greive as Monica Douglas, Shreya Khaund Marshall as Jenny Gray, and Bobby Rainsbury as Sandy Stranger.

The creative team includes director Vicky Featherstone, casting director Stuart Burt, set designer Chloe Lamford, costume designer Anna Orton, lighting designer Lizzie Powell, video designer Lewis den Hertog, sound designer and composer Pippa Murphy, movement director Charlotte McLean, with music by Anna Meredith and associate director Sally Reid.

Harrower’s adaptation was first staged at the Donmar Warehouse in 2018 and has been revised for this new production, marking its premiere performance in Scotland. The new staging also commemorates the 60th anniversary of the original stage adaptation of Spark’s novel.

Set at the Marcia Blaine School for Girls in Edinburgh, the story examines Jean Brodie’s influence on a group of girls, whom she shapes according to her own ideals, leading to increasingly complex consequences.

Vicky Featherstone commented on the forthcoming rehearsals and production, saying: “I am so excited to be working with this incredible group of actors and creatives, led by Gayle Rankin, and with a spicy new version by David Harrower which seeks to honour everything that Spark gave us while creating something which feels urgent, surprising and fresh.”

The production is presented by the National Theatre of Scotland in partnership with the Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh and in association with Pitlochry Festival Theatre, highlighting ongoing collaboration between major Scottish theatre institutions.