World premiere of new musical NANNY MCPHEE to open at Aldwych Theatre in November 2027
It has been announced that the world premiere production, with a book by Academy Award®-winning actor and screenwriter Emma Thompson, and music by singer-songwriter Gary Clark, will open at the Aldwych Theatre in London’s West End, with performances from Saturday 6 November 2027.
Based on the beloved Nanny McPhee films, and the Nurse Matilda character by Christianna Brand and Edward Ardizzone that inspired them, 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.
Although casting is still to be confirmed, an award-winning creative team is already at work bringing Nanny McPhee to life on stage. The musical has a 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 and composer of the music for Sing Street on stage and screen, and original lyrics by Emma Thompson and Gary Clark.
Nanny McPhee will be directed by Katy Rudd, with set and costume design by the Tony and Olivier Award-winning Rob Howell, and musical staging 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 world-class creative team also includes orchestrator Simon Hale, music supervisor Nigel Lilley, music arrangers Simon Hale and Nigel Lilley, lighting designer Howard Hudson, sound designer Ian Dickinson for Autograph, illusions designer Chris Fisher, puppetry director Samuel Wyer, projection designer Andrzej Goulding, and casting director Natalie Gallacher CDG (for Pippa Aillon and Natalie Gallacher Casting).
