Home | Shows | THE QUEEN’S NANNY Tour
After a hit world premiere at Ensemble Theatre, THE QUEEN’S NANNY by Melanie Tait is heading out on the road! Don’t miss this witty, heartwarming new play as it tours to venues across Australia from 31 May – 12 Jul.
- Playwright Melanie Tait
- Director Priscilla Jackman
- Cast Matthew Backer
Briallen Clarke
Sharon Millerchip
- 90mins (no interval)
- Recommended for ages 12+
- Adult themes, use of theatrical haze (water based), gun shots and flashing lights
Overview
Inspired by historical events, a royal scandal ignites a blistering fire between the steely Queen Mother and her children’s doting nanny in Melanie Tait’s sparkling new comedy drama.
Marion ‘Crawfie’ Crawford adored her job as governess to Princesses Lilibet and Margaret Rose… until she was ostracised without warning, despite dedicating the best part of her life to raising, educating and caring for the young royals. The reason? A tell-all memoir.
From the creative team behind the sell-out success of THE APPLETON LADIES’ POTATO RACE, this blackly funny play imagines a series of pivotal moments between two strong-spirited women harbouring complicated resentment.
Reviews
★★★★ "Tait’s tartly funny and inventive version might not please the most ardent monarchists, but she’s written it with skill and a winning wit." Limelight
★★★★1/2 "There can be no doubt that this is a superbly-written play where every emotion is felt by the audience and it sheds a new light on a much-discussed character." Musical Theatre AU
★★★★ "Melanie Tait has threaded the needle between sensationalist drama and cosy character study with the skill of a master seamstress." Cultural Binge
"Tait’s storytelling can be invigorating in its propulsive use of narration and its bursts of lyricism" The Sydney Morning Herald
"Backer is so talented at embodying different characters that one forgets he was, just minutes ago, playing a different role – sometimes of a different gender. The fact that he can seamlessly swap back and forth between the characters is remarkable." ArtsHub
"an entertaining, timely and informative play about Elizabeth II’s governess" The Conversation
Cast & Creatives
Melanie Tait
Melanie Tait is a writer for stage and screen with a proven track record in Australia and the UK. Her play THE APPLETON LADIES’ POTATO RACE premiered at the Ensemble Theatre in Sydney in March 2019 and toured nationally in 2021. The play has been programmed right around Australia and New Zealand including at the State Theatre Company of South Australia, Queensland Theatre and The Court Theatre in Christchurch. Melanie also adapted the play into a feature film with EQ Media, writing the screenplay for THE APPLETON LADIES’ POTATO RACE. The feature premiered on Paramount+ and Channel 10 in 2023.
Melanie’s play A BROADCAST COUP, opened in January 2023 at Ensemble Theatre as part of Sydney Festival, while THE QUEEN’S NANNY opened in September 2024 at the Ensemble Theatre. Melanie’s latest play HOW TO PLOT A HIT IN TWO DAYS will open at the Ensemble Theatre later in the year. She also has 2 other plays under commission at NIDA and the MTC. Meanwhile she is developing a TV series with BBC Studios Australia and another series with Easy Tiger. Her first play THE VEGEMITE TALES won critical and popular acclaim, playing eight years in London, including two years on the West End. Melanie then trained as a journalist with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, where she worked for twelve years across radio, podcasting and television. THE APPLETON LADIES’ POTATO RACE is published by Currency Press and A BROADCAST COUP is published by Playlab.
Priscilla Jackman
Ensemble Theatre: THE QUEENS NANNY, THE APPLETON LADIES’ POTATO RACE, THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST (play reading). Sydney Theatre Company: RBG: OF MANY, ONE, COST OF LIVING, WHITE PEARL, STILL POINT TURNING: THE CATHERINE MCGREGOR STORY. Opera Australia: BARBER OF SEVILLE (National Tour), BLUEBEARD’S CASTLE. Bell Shakespeare: THE REVENGER’S TRAGEDY (Play In A Day), THE CHANGELING (Play In A Day). National Theatre of Parramatta: GIRLS IN BOYS CARS, WHITE PEARL. Queensland Theatre: COST OF LIVING, THE APPLETON LADIES’ POTATO RACE, WHITE PEARL. National Institute of Dramatic Arts: EURYDIKE + ORPHEUS, GHOSTS, LOVE AND HONOUR. Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts: AN IDEAL HUSBAND. Assistant Director: Ensemble Theatre: GOOD PEOPLE, BAREFOOT IN THE PARK. Sydney Theatre Company: THE HANGING, THE FATHER. Opera Australia: ERNANI. Revival Director: Opera Australia: THE BARBER OF SEVILLE (NSW/VIC Schools Tour), THE MAGIC FLUTE (NSW Schools Tour).
Matthew Backer
Ensemble Theatre: THE QUEEN’S NANNY. Bell Shakespeare: HENRY V, THE TEMPEST. Belvoir Street Theatre: KILL THE MESSENGER. Dodger Theatricals/New Theatricals: JERSEY BOYS. Griffin Theatre Company: LADIES DAY, THE FOX, THE TORTOISE, WHERE IT ALL BEGAN, UNCANNY VALLEY. Hayes Theatre Company: YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN, ONLY HEAVEN KNOWS. HotHouse Theatre: FRENZY FOR TWO. Queensland Theatre: NEARER THE GODS, SWITZERLAND, BRISBANE. Sydney Opera House/Peach Theatre Company: THE HISTORY BOYS. Sydney Theatre Company: ON THE BEACH, STRANGE CASE OF DR JEKYLL AND MR HYDE, CLOUD NINE, CHIMERICA, A MIDSUMMER’S NIGHT DREAM, ORLANDO, MACHINAL. Theatre Works St Kilda: PRIVATE VIEW. Film: PLAY DIRTY, THIS TIME MAYBE, MARLEY SOMEONE. TV: GOOD COP BAD COP, PLAY SCHOOL, NEIGHBOURS, PROSPER, FIVE BEDROOMS, WELLMANIA, THE TWELVE, MIKKI VS THE WORLD, JOE VS CAROLE, HARROW, OPERATION BUFFALO, HOME AND AWAY, DEAD LUCKY, HISTORY HUNTERS. Awards: Broadway World Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (A MIDSUMMER’S NIGHT DREAM), 2016. Matilda Award for Best Actor in a Play (SWITZERLAND), 2017. Sydney Theatre Award for Best Male Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical (ONLY HEAVEN KNOWS), 2018. Dendy Award for Best Live Action Australian Short for DIE BULLY DIE (Screenwriter, Producer and Actor), Best Screenplay at Mardi Gras Film Festival, Best Screenplay at Stellar Film Festival for DIE BULLY DIE (Screenwriter, Producer and Actor), 2024.
Briallen Clarke
Ensemble Theatre: ALONE IT STANDS, THE PLANT, CLYBOURNE PARK. Carnegie 18: DREAMSONG. Darlinghurst Theatre Company: THE YOUNG TYCOONS, ALL MY SONS, THE LUNCH HOUR. Griffin Theatre Company: A STRATEGIC PLAN, FORTUNE, PONY, RAPID WRITE: HOLLYWOOD ENDING, 24 HOUR PROJECT. Sydney Theatre Company: HAY FEVER, MURIEL’S WEDDING THE MUSICAL. The Old 505 Theatre: THE BLOCK UNIVERSE (OR SO IT GOES). Television: IRREVERENT, THE HEIGHTS, DOCTOR DOCTOR, FRESHBLOOD, THE MINISTER FOR MEN. Film: LET’S SEE HOW FAST THIS BABY WILL GO. Training: National Institute of Dramatic Art., Atlantic Theatre Company, The Groundlings, Margie Haber Studio. Training: The Margie Harber Studio (Los Angeles), The Groundlings School (Los Angeles), Atlantic Theatre Company, The National Institute of Dramatic Art.
Sharon Millerchip
Ensemble Theatre: A BROADCAST COUP, THE APPLETON LADIES’ POTATO RACE, BOMBSHELLS, A PICASSO, LAST OF THE RED HOT LOVERS. Belvoir Street Theatre: FANGIRLS. Cameron Mackintosh: PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, CATS. Darlinghurst Theatre Company: SMALL MOUTH SOUNDS. Gordon Frost Organisation: CHICAGO. Griffin Theatre Company: SATANGO. IMG: CHICAGO, WEST SIDE STORY. Paul Dainty: ROCKY HORROR SHOW. Sydney Theatre Company: FALSETTOS, INTO THE WOODS. Tinderbox Productions: NORTH BY NORTHWEST. The Production Company: SWEET CHARITY, THEY’RE PLAYING OUR SONG. The Really Useful Company: LOVE NEVER DIES. Film: KATH & KIM: THE FILM. TV: COPS: LAC.
As Director: Sydney Theatre Company: RBG: OF MANY ONE. Enda Markey Presents: BECOMING ELIZA. Louise Withers & Associates: SIX. Disney Theatrical: ALADDIN. Global Creatures: STRICTLY BALLROOM. Awards: Many, including three Helpmann Awards.
Michael Hankin
Ensemble Theatre: THE QUEEN’S NANNY, WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF, LIBERTY EQUALITY FRATERNITY and GREAT FALLS. Opera Australia: IL TRITTICO. STC: ON THE BEACH, JUMPY. Belvoir Street Theatre: INTO THE WOODS, THE BOOMKAK PANTO, WAYSIDE BRIDE, LIGHT SHINING IN BUCKINGHAMSHIRE, THE GLASS MENAGERIE, HIR, ANGELS IN AMERICA, GHOSTS, IVANOV, TWELFTH NIGHT, THE SUGARHOUSE, THE GREAT FIRE, MARK COLVIN’S KIDNEY and THE DARKROOM. Griffin Theatre: GOLDEN BLOOD, UGLY MUGS. Bell Shakespeare: THE MERCHANT OF VENICE, AS YOU LIKE IT and OTHELLO. Barbican Centre: MEMORIAL. Manchester’s Home Theatre: INSANE ANIMALS. Brink Productions: THE ASPIRATIONS OF DAISE MORROW and TARTUFFE. Theatre Royal: DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS. Chunky Move/Malthouse Theatre: 247 DAYS. Force Majeure: YOU ANIMAL YOU and FLOCK. Film: Michael was the art director for Ireland’s 2020 entry for EUROVISION, the challenge designer for SURVIVOR AUSTRALIA (S6) and the weapons designer/co-ordinator for THREE THOUSAND YEARS OF LONGING. Training: National Institute of Dramatic Art.
Genevieve Graham
Genevieve Graham, Costume Designer. Ensemble Theatre: THE QUEENS NANNY, COLDER THAN HERE, DIPLOMACY, THE APPLETON LADIES POTATO RACE, THE LAST FIVE YEARS, MURDER ON THE WIRELESS, A CHRISTMAS CAROL, BOXING DAY BBQ. The Brandenburg Orchestra: HANDEL’S MESSIAH, BITTERSWEET OBSESSIONS, NOTRE DAME. The Theatre of Image: BRETT AND WENDY: A LOVE STORY BOUND BY ART. Television: (Costume designer); OPTICS (ABCIVIEW), AUSTIN SEASON 2 (ABCIVIEW), APPETITE (SBS), THE DISPOSABLES (ABC), OPTICS (ABC COMEDY), THE COMMONS (STAN) (costume assist). HEARTBREAK HIGH SEASONS 1&2 (costume buyer), PAPERDOLLS (costume buyer), COLIN FROM ACCOUNTS SEASON 2 (costume buyer). Short film: DOG EATS WORLD (Costume Designer), LUNA AND THE BRAIN TUNA (Costume Designer). Feature Film: SHANG-CHI (Costume assist), THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER (costume assist). Training: NIDA, Awards: 2017 ‘Emerging Designer for Live Performance’ for EURYDIKE AND ORPHEUS (A NIDA production).
Morgan Moroney
Ensemble Theatre: THE QUEEN’S NANNY, SUDDENLY LAST SUMMER, CLYDE’S, MR BAILEY’S MINDER. Australian Brandenburg Orchestra: INFERNO. Australian Theatre for Young People: SAPLINGS, SHACK. Belvoir Street Theatre: SONG OF FIRST DESIRE, AUGUST OSAGE COUNTY, NAYIKA: A DANCING GIRL, SHITTY. Essential Workers: COLLAPSIBLE. Hayes Theatre Company: TURN OF THE SCREW. National Theatre of Parramatta: GIRLS IN BOYS CARS, A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO SELF-DEFENCE. Opera Australia: BARBER OF SEVILLE. Pinchgut Opera: DIDO AND AENEAS. Redline Productions: CLEANSED. Siren Theatre & WorldPride: CAMP. Sugary Rum Productions: ANATOMY OF A SUICIDE. Video Designer: Ensemble Theatre: UNQUALIFIED, A LETTER FOR MOLLY. National Theatre of Parramatta: A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO SELF-DEFENCE. Assistant Lighting Designer: Opera Australia: PHANTOM OF THE OPERA. Assistant Lighting Designer: Sydney Theatre Company: DRACULA.
James Peter Brown
Ensemble Theatre: THE QUEEN’S NANNY. Belvoir Street Theatre: ICH NIBBER DIBBER, OEDIPUS SCHMOEDIPUS, WHO’S THE BEST? Carriageworks: LAKE DISAPPOINTMENT. CDP: THE MIDNIGHT GANG. Darlinghurst Theatre: LET THE RIGHT ONE IN, IN REAL LIFE, BROKEN ERTH: ARC, SHARK DIVE, WINTER CAMP, THE LIMINAL HOUR, BIRDFOXMONSTER. Griffin Theatre Company: WHEREVER SHE WANDERS, SMURF IN WANDERLAND, TRIBUNAL. Malthouse Theatre: REVOLT. SHE. SAID. REVOLT AGAIN. Sydney Theatre Company: PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK, STOLEN, CONSTELLATIONS, DO NOT GO GENTLE…, HOME, I’M DARLING, RULES FOR LIVING, THE DEEP BLUE SEA, THE REAL THING, LORD OF THE FLIES, MOSQUITOES. Sport for Jove: ROSE RIOT. Windmill Theatre: SUNRUNNERS. SOIT (Belgium): NOMADS, WE WAS THEM, MESSIAH RUN, THE LEE ELLROY SHOW. Film: BIRTHRIGHT, COSMOGRAPHIES, BLOODLINKS, WE CIRCLE SILENTLY, FUNGUS, VOICE ACTIVATED, A BRILLIANT GENOCIDE, BROWN LIPS. TV: TOP OF THE LAKE SEASON 1, THE MOVEMENT. Games: FALLOUT 4, FALLOUT 76, FALLOUT SHELTER. Dance: Raghav Handa: THE ASSEMBLY, FOLLIES OF GOD, CULT OF THE TITANS. Queensland Ballet: TETHERED. Kristina Chan: A FAINT EXISTENCE, BRIGHTNESS, MOUNTAIN. Victoria Hunt: COPPER PROMISES, TANGI WAI. The Australian Ballet: SCOPE. Sydney Dance Company: CONFORM. Matthew Day: THOUSANDS, CANNIBAL, INTERMISSION.
Christopher Starnawski
Ensemble Theatre: THE HEARTBREAK CHOIR, COLDER THAN HERE, THE GREAT DIVIDE, TODD MCKENNEY: PETER ALLEN AND ME. Belvoir 25a: AN OX STAND ON MY TONGUE. Megan Bennetts: LOSING IT. Sport For Jove: THE PLAYER KINGS, VENUS & ADONIS, ROMEO & JULIET, TWELFTH NIGHT, MACBETH, RICHARD III, HENRY IV. Squabbalogic: HERRINGBONE. Assistant Stage Manager: Ensemble Theatre: UNCLE VANYA, MIDNIGHT MURDER AT HAMLINGTON HALL, ULSTER AMERICAN. Bell Shakespeare: THE LOVERS. Belvoir Street Theatre: TINY BEAUTIFUL THINGS, SCENES FROM THE CLIMATE ERA. Opera Australia: LA TRAVIATA. Red Line Productions & Sydney Opera House: AMADEUS. Company Manager: Bar’d Work: MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING. Film: 17 MINUTES, DISARMED, LIFE AFTER MAN, KAIROS, LONG STORY SHORT, PSEUDOMONAS, RITUAL, THIS TOWN AIN’T BIG ENOUGH FOR THE BOTH OF US. Music Video: AMALIA, IN HEART’S WAKE & RAYN.
Pip Haupt
Stage Manager: Belvoir Street Theatre: PORPOISE POOL (25A). BellBonTom: TRACK WORKS. JUTE Theatre Company: FROM CAMPFIRE TO STAGE LIGHT 2024 TOUR. Queensland Performing Arts Centre: CAIRNS INDIGENOUS ART FAIR 2024. Stacks On Theatre: FOR THE TIME BEING, PURGATORIO. Assistant Stage Manager: Sydney Chamber Opera & Opera Australia: GILGAMESH. TheatreiNQ: SHAKESPEARE UNDER THE STARS 2018-2021. Production Manager: Griffin Theatre Company: SWIM 2024 TOUR.
Lily Mateljan
Costume Designer/Supervisor: Ensemble Theatre: THE GLASS MENAGERIE, COLDER THAN HERE, THE QUEEN’S NANNY. Belvoir Street Theatre: PROPOISE POOL 25A SEASON. Hayes Theatre Co: THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE, LITTLE WOMEN. Kings Cross Theatre on Broadway (KXT): RHOMBIOD, GRAIN IN THE BLOOD, THE PIGEONS. Costume Supervisor: Australian Brandenburg Orchestra: INFERNO. The Conservatorium Of Music: INTO THE WOODS. Pinchgut Opera: DIDO AND AENEAS. National Institute of Dramatic Arts Production Seasons: A VERY EXPENSIVE POISON (Paid Professional), ALL THAT GLITTERS IS NOT MOULD, FALSETTOS, BETH. Head of Wardrobe: Victorian Opera: IL TABARRO. Films: APPLETON LADIES POTATO RACE, FIVE BLIND DATES. TV: HOUSE OF GODS, THE TWELVE (Season 1), HARDBALL (Season 2), THE OTHER GUY (Season 2). Training: National Institute of Dramatic Art, (BFA Costume) ENMORE DESIGN CENTRE. Awards: Nominated Best Costume Design for RHOMBOID at Sydney Broadway Awards 2023.
Abbey Pace
Hayes Theatre Co.: GODSPELL (with The Art House Wyong), GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES, THE LUCKY COUNTRY, MURDER FOR TWO (with Riverside Theatres & Arts Centre Melbourne), A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC, MURDER FOR TWO: CHRISTMAS EDITION, ZOMBIE! THE MUSICAL, RIDE THE CYCLONE (with The Art House Wyong), PIRATES OF PENZANCE (with The Art House Wyong, Merrigong Theatre Company & Canberra Theatre Centre). Sydney Conservatorium of Music: INTO THE WOODS. Squabbalogic: THE DISMISSAL: A MUSICAL COMEDY.
Tour Dates and Locations
- The Round, Nunawading, VIC | Sat 31 May
- Princess Theatre, Launceston, TAS | Wed 4 Jun
- Wangaratta Performing Arts & Convention Centre | Sat 7 Jun
- The Pavilion Performing Arts Centre, Sutherland, NSW | Fri 13 – Sat 14 Jun
- Canberra Theatre Centre, ACT | Thu 19 – 21 Jun
- The Art House, Wyong, NSW | Tue 24 Jun
- Performance Arts Culture Cessnock, NSW | Thu 26 Jun
- Blue Mountains Theatre and Community Hub, NSW | Sat 28 Jun
- Glasshouse Port Macquarie, NSW | Wed 2 Jul
- Goulburn Performing Arts Centre, NSW | Sat 5 Jul
- Griffith Regional Theatre, NSW | Tue 8 Jul
- Wagga Wagga Civic Theatre, NSW | Thu 10 Jul
- Dubbo Regional Theatre, NSW | Sat 12 Jul
Playwright's Note
I started working on this play around the time the Albanese Labor Government was voted in.
Full of hope, I felt certain when the play got to the stage, we’d have lived through a successful Australian Indigenous Voice Referendum and, in an election year, movement would be ramping up about a new Republic Referendum. I wanted this play to be part of that conversation.
Instead, I write this note a week after a cabinet reshuffle, where, in the wake of last year’s referendum, the Albanese Government has abolished the Assistant Ministry for the Republic. We’re about to welcome (and spend tax-payer money on) a visit from King Charles III and Queen Camilla, who’ve just had £45M of public money added to their annual income while the rest of the UK suffers a crippling cost of living crisis.
An Australian Republic is much further away than it was two years ago.
While our Head of State is a man sovereign by accident of birth, in a country on the other side of the earth, THE QUEEN’S NANNY is our story too. I hope it asks questions about the people our society values, and puts Marion Crawford’s story front and centre – a working class Scottish woman, shamed and ousted from the family she spent two decades of her life dedicated to.
She was a pioneer: the OG Royal memoirist. Her book was the first insight into the Royals behind closed doors – showing them as a relatively loving, normal family. The Queen Mother’s concern about the book was warranted – what would it mean for the people of the British Empire to know they were being ‘ruled over’ and funding a family who are really a rather average lot?
At the time, it was a PR coup for everyone but Crawfie. In the context of 2024, in a post Diana: Her True Story and Spare world, Marion Crawford’s story adds to the myriad of reasons why the Crown should be relegated to history books and Netflix series, and Australia should stand completely on its own feet.
Melanie Tait
Director's Note
When Melanie first told me about Crawfie’s story – a woman who lived in the same town as her own Scottish family, who mixed and worked amongst Melanie’s own extended family and friends, after being ousted by the royals – I was surprised it was the first I’d heard of a Marion Crawford. In a contemporary world, which seems obsessed with mining all details of royal life for artistic and celebrity click bait, I was shocked Crawfie’s story was not more widely known.
However, in reading the first draft of Melanie’s beautiful lyrical text, I was instantly moved by the bold form she explores – resisting any depiction of ‘The Crown-esque’ characterisation – to create a taut, playful, yet deeply affecting commentary on power, authorship, motherhood and loyalty.
THE QUEEN’S NANNY is a play that speaks directly to our Australian audiences, interrogating, through the fallen figure of Crawfie, wider questions around our position culturally and politically within the British Commonwealth. Through Crawfie, we are invited into conversations about who is entitled to tell whose story, and how stories handed down through history are shaped by the powerful. Melanie invites us to reflect on the voiceless women who have raised some of the world’s finest leaders and shines a spotlight on the complexities of the roles of the ‘surrogate mother’ and the loyal subject. With all of Melanie’s characteristic charm the playful humour and deft dialogue of The Queen’s Nanny, with its unequivocal celebration of theatricality, invites us to enjoy a delightful night at the theatre, while raising some rueful provocations around choice, autonomy and the manipulation of the stories we tell ourselves through our shared history.
Priscilla Jackman
Watch the trailer
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