Backstairs Billy  by Marcelo dos Santos

Directed by Elliott Bunker

Production dates: Monday 15 to Saturday 21 June – with Saturday matinee 

Why this play. Why this theatre.

The Queen Mother Theatre is the perfect home for Backstairs Billy.
A play about the Queen Mother, staged in the only theatre in the world that carries her title.

The Play

1979. Clarence House, London.

The Queen Mother’s receptions are in full swing and the champagne is flowing. At the centre of it all is William ‘Billy’ Tallon – page of the backstairs, keeper of the keys, handler of the corgis and guardian of royal secrets.

Beyond the palace walls, Britain is in turmoil. Unemployment is rising, strikes dominate the headlines and the country is on the brink of seismic political change under Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

These two worlds are about to collide.

Backstairs Billy charts the extraordinary fifty-year relationship between the Queen Mother and her most loyal, most outrageous servant, who entered royal service at just fifteen years old. It is an irreverent, funny and moving examination of power, loyalty, identity and survival inside a rigid institution.

The play premiered in 2023 at the Duke of York’s Theatre, produced by the Michael Grandage Company, starring Penelope Wilton and Luke Evans.

Marcelo Dos Santos was named Most Promising Playwright at the 2024 Critics’ Circle Theatre Awards for this play.

Director’s Vision

This production will sit at the collision point between royal elegance and social upheaval.

The world of Clarence House will retain its poise, tradition and polish, but the set and staging will carry an almost anarchic energy, reflecting the political and cultural tension of late-1970s Britain. The contrast between control and chaos, surface glamour and lived reality, will drive the visual language of the production.

I am not interested in imitation or lookalikes. I am interested in actors who can capture the essence of these real-life figures – their rhythms, contradictions and power dynamics – while bringing something of themselves to the role.

Casting Overview

Cast: 6 male / 5 female
Some roles are double cast, offering strong opportunities for versatility and contrast.

The doubled roles are designed to represent life outside the palace walls – bold, vivid characters requiring bold, confident actors.

Roles

• – William (Billy) Tallon – 44 / Male
  The Queen Mother’s fiercely loyal servant. Warm, flamboyant and razor-sharp, Billy has mastered the art of survival inside the royal household. A proud gay man who conceals parts of himself to maintain his position, he is both gatekeeper and gossip, servant and manipulator. His complex relationship with power, identity and loyalty lies at the heart of the play.

• – The Queen Mother – 79 / Female
  Regal, sharp-witted and deeply traditional, with a mischievous sense of humour and formidable political instinct. Her relationship with Billy is one of mutual dependence and subtle manipulation. Warm and charming, yet capable of imperious detachment, she embodies both the allure and quiet tyranny of monarchy.

• – Gwydion – 20s / Male
  A sharp-tongued and camp member of household staff. Cynical, observant and theatrical, he uses humour as armour while navigating class, queerness and service. Welsh accent essential – must be excellent.

• – Ian – 20s–30s / Male / Black
  A confident, charismatic young Black man who enters Billy’s life as a romantic and sexual encounter outside the royal household. Ian’s boldness and refusal to defer to aristocratic norms disrupt Billy’s carefully controlled world, bringing race, class and sexuality into sharp focus.

• – Mr Kerr – 40s–50s / Male
  A no-nonsense, long-serving member of staff. Quietly authoritative, deeply loyal to the institution and suspicious of Billy’s influence. Represents old-school discretion in tension with Billy’s performative power.

• – DOUBLE ROLE – Annabel Maud / Lady ‘Miffie’ Astlebury – 20s / Female
  Lady Astlebury: A glamorous, entitled aristocrat, champagne-soaked and effortlessly confident. A satire of privilege and social hierarchy.
  
  Annabel Maud: A lively sitcom actress and one of the Queen Mother’s television favourites, bringing contemporary celebrity into Clarence House.

• – DOUBLE ROLE – Mr Harrington-Bahr / Hugo McCoyd – 60s / Male
  Hugo McCoyd: A charming, scandal-adjacent old friend of the Queen Mother. Witty, indulgent and nostalgically flirtatious.
  
  Mr Harrington-Bahr: Earnest, slightly pompous, hard of hearing and deeply deferential. A comic portrait of middle-class reverence for royalty.

• – DOUBLE ROLE – Mrs Harrington-Bahr / Lady Adeline – 60s / Female
  Lady Adeline: A poised aristocrat and old friend of the Queen Mother, embodying rigid tradition and social formality.
  
  Mrs Harrington-Bahr: Brisk, overbearing and dazzled by royalty. Fiercely proper and socially aspirational.

• – Young Billy – 15 / Male
  Will be cast as a young-looking 17–19 year old. An earnest teenager from Coventry, newly arrived at Clarence House in the 1950s. Idealistic, eager and open-hearted, providing a poignant counterpoint to the older Billy.

Auditions

To register your interest in auditioning or to ask any questions, please email backstairsbilly@qmt.org.uk

Please review the following pages if you are looking to audition:

• The Queen Mother – Pages 38-42 / 46-50 / 63-68
• Billy – Pages 11-14 / 43-45 / 51-60 / 63-68 / 68-71 / 74-78
• Mr Kerr – Pages 43-45 / 38-42 / 68-71 / 74-78
• Ian – Pages 51-60 / 74-78
• Gwydion – Pages 11-14 / 68-71
• Young Billy – Pages 46-51
• Annabel/‘Miffie’ – Pages 21-28 / 78-84
• Mr Harrington-Bahr / Hugo – Pages 21-28 / 78-84
• Mrs Harrington-Bahr / Lady Adeline – Pages 21-28 / 78-84
• If you would like to audition for one of the palace staff, which are non-speaking roles, please get in touch.

To register your interest in auditioning or to ask any questions, please email backstairsbilly@qmt.org.uk

Audition Dates

Rehearsals

Tuesday and Thursday (plus some Sundays)