Wandering and Wondering

If you have ever muttered the words ‘those who can’t, teach, ’ I dare you to see this show. It is bold, hilarious, meticulously executed and beyond thought-provoking. Miss is a 60-minute love letter to teachers. It runs at Lion and Unicorn Theatre, and quite frankly, it is like nothing I have seen this year at The Camden Fringe. 

Lead actress Meg Coslett plays Miss, a teacher who guides us through her daily schedule while describing every aspect of the school, her students and other teachers. The rest of the cast of three does a phenomenal job performing every stereotype you can remember from your days in uniform (and more). Multi-roling is a skill not all actors possess, and James Coward, Joe Sefton and Georgia Maguire excel in this area of expertise – their commitment to physicality, accents and mannerisms. was enthralling. Every new character introduced gets vocal approval from the audience as they reminisce on their years in secondary school, which is clear evidence of Coslett’s strong script. On the night I attended, Coslett took the opportunity to interact with audience members due to friendly heckling from who I can only assume were teachers in the crowd. If that’s not approval, then what is?

Phoebe Rowell John directs Coslett as she stares the audience in their eyes and unravels her stream of consciousness. The intimate act of breaking the fourth wall for the full 60 minutes creates an immediate relationship with the room — a clear example of what a teacher is to a student: a mentor, a safe space, and a guide. Sometimes we felt like students in her classroom, and other times we were her best friends, and then just when we thought we understood the plot, emotional twists brought us to the edge of our seats. 

Never did we delve too deep into a heavier topic that is relevant to secondary schools; drug trafficking, eating disorders or self-harm, but Coslett hovered over each, dedicating just enough time to impact an audience and make us listen, but not force us to understand — this is a gift as someone who has sat in many theatres as of late feeling lecture.  

A significant moment was the explosive release Miss had due to frustration with the safeguarding system in place, leading her to erupt and explain what is wrong with the education system and the importance of her job. The room went silent, and you could hear a pin drop… It was chilling. The audience didn’t switch off or not listen, but sympathised and felt a sliver of guilt for not taking the situation more seriously. When a writer can win an audience over so thoroughly throughout the majority of the piece, there’s no losing in the end, and Miss had won us over.

Every prop was used out of necessity, every character was relevant to the storyline, and every word was spoken with conviction to have us thinking ‘What were my teachers thinking when I was in maths class’ and then worrying a little about the answer. School was the best and the worst for most of us, and Coslett captured all of this in an hour. Whether you heard your story, your siblings, your friends or that person from the year above, you knew the story and understood the assignment at hand. 

Miss is a work of art that I recommend anyone to witness – teachers are so often overlooked and thrown aside, and what Coslett has done with Miss is remind us that they have an astronomical task at hand. Teachers work with children at their most primitive years to help shape them into the human beings they will become. A task at which they receive little support or recognition. How this has been created so it is understandable and digestible whilst glazed in nostalgia, wit and laughter, I don’t know – go and see it!