Scotland's Pitlochry Festival Theatre has unveiled its 2026 season, the first programmed by freshly appointed Artistic Director Alan Cumming. And the Tony and Olivier winner won't be solely handling the theatre's leadership. He'll be starring in productions throughout the season.
Cumming will co-star with Shirley Henderson in a new production of Oliver Emanuel's A History of Paper, directed by Dundee Rep Artistic Director Andrew Panton and featuring music by Gareth Williams, performing August 8-September 12.
That production will be immediately followed by the the world premiere of Martin Sherman's I'll Be Seeing You, centered on a young gay playwright writing a play about flamboyant pianist and television personality Liberace, performing September 12-October 11. Cumming will direct the production, with a starry cast boasting Simon Russell Beale (The Lehman Trilogy) and Fra Fee (Hawkeye).
Cumming will also close out the season playing Henry Higgins in a new revival of Lerner and Loewe's My Fair Lady, performing November 21-December 31. Olivier winner Maria Friedman (Merrily We Roll Along) will direct the new staging.
Making its U.K. premiere at the company will be the immersive musical Ceilidh, with performances set to run September 24-October 17. Written by Scott Gilmour and Claire McKenzie and directed by Tony winner Sam Pinkleton, the musical bowed in Boston earlier this year, inviting audiences into a whirlwind of lively Scottish dances, where every step tells a tale and honors a tradition passed down through generations of "callers."
The theatre will open the season May 23-June 27 with the Scottish premiere of the Tony- and Olivier-winning musical Once, with the original Broadway creative team (led by director John Tiffany and also featuring choreographer Steven Hoggett, designer Bob Crowley, and music director Martin Lowe) reuniting to remount the 2012 musical.
Sally Reid will direct the world premiere of Douglas Maxwell's new play Inexperience June 13-July 4, with Adura Onashile and Sandy Grierson starring; followed by Maureen Beattie leading a new adaptation of Shakespeare's King Lear from director Finn den Hertog, titled Lear and set to perform July 4-August 1. Forbes Mason will co-star in the latter.
Next up will be a world premiere concert-style play from Tony winner Frances Ruffelle (Les Misérables), Sally George, and Cumming. I Can Die Too is inspired by Cocteau's La Voix Humaine, and will be co-produced at Pitlochry by Lovechild Productions. Ruffelle will also star, with performances running July 11-August 2. Bill Buckhurst will direct.
The season will also feature Sam Hardie directing a revival of Iain Heggie's Wiping My Mother's Arse, starring Johnny McKnight and performing August 15-September 6; and Gayle Rankin (Cabaret) in David Harrower's adaptation of Muriel Spark's The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, directed by Vicky Featherstone and performing November 4-7. The latter production originated at National Theatre of Scotland, and is being presented in partnership with The Royal Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh.
The company will also present a new festival January 16-18, Out in the Hills, celebrating LGBTQIA+ voices and creative expression. The performances are set to feature Ian McKellen, Graham Norton, and Cumming, and featuring work from Val McDermid, Jackie Kay, and Armistead Maupin. The literature festival Winter Words will return to the company February 12-15.
Cumming is best known as a Tony-winning actor of stage and screen, perhaps most notably for his performance as The Emcee in two Broadway revivals of Cabaret. He's also an accomplished director, co-directing the 2001 film The Anniversary Party and Off-Broadway's Tennessee Rising in 2023. Cumming has also previously served as artistic director of Adelaide Cabaret Festival.
“My first season of programmed work as artistic director in 2026 also happens to be the 75th anniversary of Pitlochry Festival Theatre’s founding by a man named John Stewart, who came here during the Second World War and made a promise to himself that he would return and build a theatre," shares Cumming in a statement. "I have found I have a great affinity with John: we both came to Pitlochry and were mesmerized, we both share a belief in dreaming big and the power of positivity and manifestation. And for my first season, just as he did in 1951, I have invited people here who I admire and love, and who have been part of the theatrical journey that led me to becoming this theatre’s artistic director. The potential of Pitlochry Festival Theatre is boundless, and we have a passionate and proud staff who are ready to share the adventure ahead with me. And so, in 2026 I hope you’ll join us all for a season of work that is a homage to John Stewart’s legacy and spirit: one of boldness, of daring, and of manifesting a dream."
Tickets are currently on sale for Members and Patrons, with public sales set to begin November 27 at 10 AM GMT. Tickets for Ceilidh will be available in 2026. Visit PitlochryFestivalTheatre.com.
