Theatre News

”Gypsy” revival announced in Pitlochry Festival Theatre season

The artwork for Gypsy
The artwork for Gypsy

Pitlochry Festival Theatre has unveiled its 2023 summer season plans.

Set to feature in the season (which is running from 19 May to 30 September) will be a revival of Arthur Laurents, Jules Styne and Stephen Sondheim’s much-loved musical Gypsy, following the rise of Gypsy Rose Lee and her overbearing mother.

A Scottish revival of Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire has been programmed, as has the Scottish premiere of Emma Rice’s acclaimed adaptation of Noël Coward’s Brief Encounter, as well as the world premiere of Peter Arnott’s new play Group Portrait In A Summer Landscape, co-produced with the Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh.

The theatre’s new studio will stage the premiere of To The Bone, Scottish playwright Isla Cowan’s (She Wolf, Edinburgh Festival Fringe) new play. Other shows in the studio season include The Great Replacement by Uma Nada-Rajah and Martin McCormick’s The Maggie Wall.

The venue will once more stage outdoor shows in its amphitheatre, including the premiere of Elizabeth Newman’s new adaptation of Frances Hodgson Burnett’s much-loved classic tale The Secret Garden.

Elizabeth Newman, artistic director of Pitlochry Festival Theatre said: “We are proud to continue to be the nation’s largest producing theatre located in beautiful Pitlochry. We reach audiences and artists from all across Scotland (mainland and islands), and we cannot wait to spend next year deepening our relationships locally, regionally, and nationally.

“This summer season we also collaborate with other companies to share Pitlochry with the world and the world with Pitlochry. We will collaborate with A Play, a Pie and a Pint, OVO and Aberdeen Arts Centre, all for the first time and continue our important relationship with the Royal Lyceum Edinburgh.

“Pitlochry Festival Theatre prides itself on making great drama in the heart of Scotland and we can’t wait to welcome more people to get involved through our participation activities too, and if you’re an artist, you can also connect with us through our different talent development initiatives and Writers Room.

“The investment made by Creative Scotland and Perth & Kinross Council to Pitlochry Festival Theatre enables us to create meaningful, accessible, and entertaining work for the people of Scotland. In a typical year, we reach audiences across an extraordinary third of the entire country and have the widest reach of any Scottish theatre maker. With the support of these two organisations, we are delighted to provide theatre Inside, Outside and Online for all.”

A tenth 2023 production, a brand-new play, is to be revealed in February.