Sharon Small to lead The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie cast at Chichester Festival Theatre

Sharon Small will make her Chichester debut as the lead in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, it was announced today.

Jay Presson Allen's play – based on the 1961 novel by Muriel Spark – will run at Chichester Festival Theatre from 29 May to 30 June. Set in Edinburgh in the 1930s, the show tells the story of the unconventional and inspiring schoolmistress as the children she teaches grow up and start to question her methods.

The stage production premiered in 1966 and was adapted for the screen in 1969, with Maggie Smith in the title role. Small's credits include The Inspector Lynley Mysteries and Flesh and Blood for TV and Men Should Weep, The Threepenny Opera and The Realistic Joneses for theatre.

Rachel Kavanaugh directs this revival, with design by Robert Jones, lighting by Howard Harrison, music by Catherine Jayes, sound by Fergus O'Hare, movement by Georgina Lamb and casting by Charlotte Sutton. Further casting will be announced in due course.