Emma Thompson's long-gestating Nanny McPhee musical is finally moving. Story House PR teased the show on Wednesday evening ahead of a full announcement on Thursday morning, and this is what is already on the record.
A full announcement for Nanny McPhee the Musical is due at 10am on Thursday 27 August. Story House PR trailed it on Wednesday evening with a single line, "She's on her way...", and a new social handle, @NannyMcPheeMusical. No venue, no dates and no casting have been confirmed.
The adaptation comes from Emma Thompson, who has written the book and co-written the lyrics, with a score by Gary Clark. Katy Rudd directs. Thompson wrote and starred in the 2005 film, so the stage version keeps its original author.
Katy Rudd joined the project in late 2024, and her recent work points to the register the show is working in: she directed The Ocean at the End of the Lane and Ballet Shoes, both large-scale family pieces built on stagecraft rather than screen effects.
It has been a long road. The musical has been in development with Working Title's stage division for more than a decade. An early workshop in 2018 cast Olivia Colman as Nanny McPhee, with Lily James and Rory Kinnear also taking part. A London opening was pencilled in for 2023 and did not happen; by late 2024 the target had moved to 2026.
That 2026 target has passed without a theatre being booked, which makes a 2027 opening the likeliest outcome. Nothing has been confirmed, though, and Thursday's announcement may yet name a date sooner. The venue is the detail to watch: in 2024 the production's position was that casting conversations would not begin until a theatre and dates were locked in, so a theatre announcement should bring a cast with it.
Best of Theatre understands the show is heading to the Aldwych Theatre, though that is yet to be confirmed officially and Thursday’s announcement is the thing to wait for. The timing fits. The Aldwych's current tenant, Sinatra the Musical, is booking to 10 April 2027, which would free the house up later that year. It also squares with what was said around the production in 2024, when the delay was put down to a shortage of large theatres rather than anything to do with the show.
The film drew on Christianna Brand's Nurse Matilda books, following a widowed father, seven unmanageable children and a nanny whose warts disappear one by one as her charges learn to behave. A sequel, Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang, followed in 2010.
We will update this post when the full announcement lands on Thursday morning. Nanny McPhee the Musical will be listed with dates and prices as soon as a venue is confirmed.
