- 7 days ago
- 3 min read

The Queen's Nanny - Ensemble Theatre (NSW)

Written by Melanie Tait. Directed by Priscilla Jackman

A new work that focuses on historical tales to question the power of a sovereign nation in today's Australia

Reviewed by Mary Anne Reid

Ensemble Theatre, Kirribilli

Until 12th October, 2024

Tickets: https://www.ensemble.com.au/shows/the-queens-nanny/

The Ensemble Theatre was abuzz on opening night with a new work from an Australian playwright who looks like she is going to make a big contribution to the country’s theatrical repertoire.

Melanie Tait matches style with substance in her story of Marion “Crawfie" Crawford – the beloved Scottish nanny to royal princesses Elizabeth and Margaret who fell from grace and was ostracised by the royals after she wrote a memoir about her life with the family. Not a racy memoir, mind you, just an affectionate portrait of life inside the castle.

The cast is a tight ensemble of three: Elizabeth Blackmore plays Marion (the Nanny), Emma Palmer plays Elizabeth (the Queen Mother), and Matthew Backer plays the other seven parts. While all three actors are fantastic, Backer steals the show with his comic transitions through wildly disparate roles, ranging from Bertie (the King with a stutter) to Lilibet (a very young future Queen Elizabeth).

The Queen's Nanny, Ensemble Theatre (2024). Images by Phil Erbacher.

The story opens with a melancholic introduction to Marion in the 1980s, as she waits by the window hoping the train passing by will finally bring a beloved royal to visit her after all these years. We then switch rapidly to high comedy as we meet Elizabeth and Bertie, in the 1930s, discussing what they want in a nanny. Director Priscilla Jackman works the actors hard, with minimal props and costuming, but everyone is up to the task and the dialogue sparkles.

These early comedic scenes, which are amongst the best in the show, set the stage for what will be ultimately be a sad tale. Marion has other plans for her life but agrees to take the job for a short while, becoming attached to and loved by the princesses, remaining for many years living with her husband in a cottage in the palace grounds. The trouble arises when she follows the Queen Mother’s suggestion to contribute a couple of articles to the Ladies Home Journal about being a royal nanny, and is subsequently contracted to turn the articles into a book. The Queen Mother is horrified that Marion’s name will be attached to a book on life with the royal family, which has previously been a very private domain.

While the story is historical, the concerns of this play are contemporary. It is about power, and the ruthlessness that so often accompanies it. It is also, by implication, asking Australian audiences to question the value and relevance of Australia remaining under a British sovereign.

Tait and Jackman are a true team...more to come from this team I hope

Interestingly, Tait comments in the program notes that she sees Marion as a pioneer: “Her book was the first insight into the Royals behind closed doors – the showing them as a relatively loving, normal family.” This ultimately worked well for the Royal family but not for Marion.

Tait and Jackman have worked together before, on Tait’s play The Appleton Ladies’ Potato Race, and it really feels like they are a true team. It was so great to see the show packed to the rafters with people of all ages in the audience and a genuine feeling of excitement and buzz around the work. More to come from this team I hope.

Playwright Melanie Tait

Director Priscilla Jackman

Assistant Director Miranda Middleton

Cast

Matthew Backer

Elizabeth Blackmore

Emma Palmer

Set Designer Michael Hankin

Costume Designer Genevieve Graham

Lighting Designer Morgan Moroney

Composer and Sound Designer James Peter Brown

Dialect & Voice Coach Jennifer White