BACKSTAIRS BILLY

BY MARCELO DOS SANTOS | DUKE OF YORK’S THEATRE

“One can't help where one is born. Or one's station, of course. The trick to happiness is to be content where one is. Or so I am told.”

1979. Clarence House, London. The Queen Mother's receptions are in full swing and the champagne is flowing. Guiding the proceedings is William 'Billy' Tallon, page of the backstairs, keeper of the keys, holder of the royal corgis – and the royal secrets.

Outside the palace walls, unemployment, inflation and industrial action are bringing Britain to its knees, and the country is on the verge of changing seismically under Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. These two worlds are about to collide, with dizzying consequences for everyone...

Backstairs Billy examines the fifty-year relationship between the Queen Mother and her most loyal, most outrageous servant, who joined her household at the age of fifteen.

Marcelo Dos Santos's irreverent comedy was produced by the Michael Grandage Company and Sand & Snow Entertainment in a co-production with Alex Turner at the Duke of York's Theatre, London, in 2023 starring Penelope Wilton and Luke Evans.

Directed by Michael Grandage, with set design by Christopher Oram, costume design by Christopher Oram and Tom Rand, lighting design by Ryan Day, sound design and composition by Adam Cork, wigs, hair and make-up design by Carole Hancock and casting by Jacob Sparrow.

Photography: Johan Persson