The world premiere of a brand-new musical stage adaptation of Nanny McPhee will open in London in summer 2027
With a book by Academy Award®-winning actor and screenwriter Emma Thompson, the new musical will bring the magical world of Nanny McPhee to the stage for the first time.
When the mysterious figure of Nanny McPhee arrives at the Browns’ door she discovers a household in chaos; anarchic children who have driven away every Nanny before her, a desperate father, a donkey that is out of control, and a baby who will stop at nothing. Armed with her strange knobbly stick, exceedingly unorthodox methods and quite a lot of magic, Nanny McPhee begins to restore harmony. And as it turns out, the children aren’t the only family members who have lessons to learn.
Working Title Films first brought Nanny McPhee to the screen in the 2005 film written by and starring Emma Thompson, alongside Colin Firth, Angela Lansbury, Kelly Macdonald, Imelda Staunton and Thomas Brodie-Sangster. Thompson returned to write and star in the 2010 sequel Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang.
Creative Team
A world-class creative team has been assembled to bring Nanny McPhee to the stage including book by Academy Award®, BAFTA, Golden Globe and Emmy Award-winning actor and writer Emma Thompson (who won an Academy Award® for Best Adapted Screenplay for Sense and Sensibility), music by singer-songwriter Gary Clark (frontman of the band Danny Wilson who wrote the music for Sing Street on stage and film), with original lyrics by Emma Thompson and Gary Clark.
Emma Thompson said: “I’ve lived with Nanny McPhee for so long that to see her finally tread the boards is supremely exciting. Theatre feels like her natural home – magic, music, mischief and a good dollop of danger can all happen right in front of you. Working with Gary Clark to create the musical heart that beats through the story has been an unforgettable journey of a lifetime. And I am thrilled and so proud that the brilliant Katy Rudd will be bringing it all to life with her inimitable witty wonderment. I can’t wait to introduce the all-new Nanny McPhee to audiences next summer.”
Nanny McPhee will be directed by Katy Rudd (Ballet Shoes and The Ocean at the End of the Lane), with set and costume designs by the Tony and Olivier Award-winning Rob Howell (Matilda the Musical) and choreography by Ellen Kane, who won the 2023 World Choreography Award for Best Motion Picture Choreography for her work on the film adaptation of Matilda the Musical.
The award-winning creative team also includes:
Orchestrations by Tony and Olivier Award-winning Simon Hale (Spring Awakening, Girl From the North Country)
Music supervision by Nigel Lilley (Follies, Next to Normal, Newsies)
Music arrangements by Simon Hale and Nigel Lilley.
Lighting is by designer Howard Hudson (& Juliet, Starlight Express and Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812)
Sound design by Ian Dickinson for Autograph (Company, Angels in America, Jerusalem)
Illusions by Chris Fisher, (Stranger Things: The First Shadow, Back to the Future: The Musical, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child)
Puppetry by Samuel Wyer (Wolf, Witch, Giant, Fairy and The Ocean at the End of the Lane)
Projections by Andrzej Goulding (Life of Pi, & Juliet, Groundhog Day)
Casting by What’s On Stage Award-winning Natalie Gallacher CDG (for Pippa Aillon and Natalie Gallacher Casting) (Come From Away, Spring Awakening).
Further information, including the theatre, performance dates and casting, will be announced in due course.
