Everything you need to know about 'Nanny McPhee' in the West End

Emma Thompson adapts the (other) magical nanny story for the stage with music by Gary Clark.

Summary

• Nanny McPhee is based on the 2005 film adapted by and starring Emma Thompson
• Thompson adapts the story for the stage with music by Gary Clark
• The show is set to debut in the West End in summer 2027
• The Nanny McPhee character was created by Christianna Brand as Nurse Matilda in 1964

The no-nonsense British nanny is an institution – and Mary Poppins isn’t the only one to have magical powers! The Nanny McPhee character was introduced by Christianna Brand in her classic children's book Nurse Matilda in 1964 and was revived for a new generation in Emma Thompson’s 2005 film.

Thompson now adapts the heartwarming story of a troubled family saved by the mysterious Nanny McPhee as a stage musical with music by Gary Clark. The show is due to premiere in the West End in summer 2027, with dates and venue to be confirmed.

Says Thompson, "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.” Read on to learn more about what to expect from this spellbinding new show. What the West End needs is Nanny McPhee!

Check back for Nanny McPhee tickets on LondonTheatre.co.uk.

What is Nanny McPhee about?

Set in Victorian-era England, Nanny McPhee is about the Brown family, comprising a recently widowed father in the middle of a financial crisis and his seven extremely naughty children who frighten off every nanny who tries to look after them. In comes Nanny McPhee, a formidable lady with an unusual appearances who carries a magical stick. As she begins to restore order, both the children and the adults have lessons to learn.

There are of course similarities with Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music, and you may also pick up on parallels with Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, My Fair Lady, and The Addams Family. There’s a strong streak of surreal and macabre humour and plenty of English eccentricity!

Who wrote Nanny McPhee?

Nanny McPhee is based on the Nurse Matilda books by Christianna Brand. Three instalments were published between 1964-74, with illustrations by Edward Ardizzone. Brand was also known for her detective novels in the 1940s and 1950s, several of which were adapted for film.

The musical version of Nanny McPhee is adapted by Emma Thompson, who also penned the screenplay for the 2005 film. One of the most celebrated actresses of her generation and an Oscar winner for Howards End, Thompson is also an acclaimed screenwriter. Her screenplays include Sense and Sensibility (for which she won an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay), Effie Gray, and Bridget Jones’s Baby. The Nurse Matilda books were among her childhood favourites.

The music is by singer songwriter Gary Clark, known for being the frontman of the band Danny Wilson and for his work on the film Sing Street (which became a stage musical in 2025). Clark and Thompson both provide the lyrics.

Is there a film version of Nanny McPhee?

Nanny McPhee is based on the 2005 film of the same name, directed by Kirk Jones (I Swear) and adapted by Emma Thompson, who also played the title role. The cast also included Colin Firth, Angela Lansbury, Kelly Macdonald, Celia Imrie, Imelda Staunton, and Derek Jacobi. The sequel Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang, set during World War II, was released in 2010.

Where is Nanny McPhee playing?

The venue where Nanny McPhee will play is to be announced.

When is Nanny McPhee playing?

Nanny McPhee is due to begin performances in summer 2027. Keep an eye on LondonTheatre.co.uk’s Nanny McPhee page for information about dates and timings.

How long is Nanny McPhee?

The running time of Nanny McPhee is to be confirmed.

Who is in the Nanny McPhee cast?

The cast of Nanny McPhee is to be confirmed.

Who is in the Nanny McPhee creative team?

Nanny McPhee is directed by Katy Rudd, whose previous productions include The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, Ballet Shoes, and The Ocean at the End of the Lane. Rudd has a real flair for ensemble shows with enchanting world-building and she ought to be the perfect caretaker for this project.

The top-notch creative team also includes choreography by Ellen Kane (Paddington), set and costume design by Rob Howell (Matilda), lighting by Howard Hudson (Starlight Express), sound design by Ian Dickinson for Autograph (Company), illusions by Chris Fisher (Stranger Things: The First Shadow), puppetry by Samuel Wyer (The Ocean at the End of the Lane), and music supervision by Nigel Lilley (Follies).

Who are the characters in Nanny McPhee?

Nanny McPhee features the following cast of loveable and eccentric characters:

Nanny McPhee: a magical nanny with a no-nonsense approach towards discipline who never explains anything. Mr Cedric Brown: an undertaker and overwhelmed, widowed father of seven children. Simon, Tora, Eric, Lily, Sebastian, Christianna, and Agatha Brown: the incorrigible Brown children. Evangeline: the Browns’ scullery maid who has a fondness for the children and their father. Aunt Adelaide: a formidable dowager pressuring Cedric to remarry. Mrs Selma Quickly: a pushy three-time widow and the children’s wicked-stepmother-to-be. Mrs Blatherwick: the Browns’ cook, who has a military background Mr Wheen and Mr Jowls: Cedric’s wacky colleagues.

What are the songs in Nanny McPhee?

The song list for the Nanny McPhee musical is to be confirmed. We expect the score to be utterly enchanting!

What are some fun facts about Nanny McPhee?

• Christianna Brand’s first Nurse Matilda book was published in 1964, the same year Disney’s Mary Poppins film was released. Emma Thompson, who would have been five at the time, memorably played the unyielding author PL Travers (who published the first instalment in 1934) to Tom Hanks’s Walt Disney in the 2013 film Saving Mr Banks.
• Thompson changed the title character’s name from Nurse Matilda to Nanny McPhee because “Nurse” as a synonym for “Nanny” is now archaic and the name Matilda has been strongly associated with Roald Dahl’s young heroine with her own supernatural powers since 1988 (in another neat connection, Thompson played Miss Trunchbull in the 2022 movie musical adaptation).
• In the film, the eldest child, Simon, is played by Thomas Brodie-Sangster – the year before, he portrayed the son of another widower (played by Liam Neeson) in Love Actually (also starring Thompson and Colin Firth). He has gone to have a successful acting career as an adult.
• Did you know that in addition to all her other accomplishments, Emma Thompson has experience as a musical theatre performer? Her performance as Sally in Me and My Girl in the West End in 1985 was a major breakthrough in her career. Thirty years later, she played Mrs Lovett in Sweeney Todd at New York’s Lincoln Center and the London Coliseum opposite Bryn Terfel.

Check back for Nanny McPhee tickets on LondonTheatre.co.uk.

Photo: Emma Thompson. (Photo by Nick Haddow)