Pitlochry Festival Theatre unveils star-studded inaugural season for artistic director Alan Cumming

Alan Cumming has announced his first season as artistic director of Pitlochry Festival Theatre, marking the venue’s 75th anniversary in 2026.

The season will open in May with the Scottish première of Once, which we have covered in more detail here.

In June, Douglas Maxwell’s Inexperience will premiere in the Studio, directed by Sally Reid and featuring Adura Onashile and Sandy Grierson. The play is a romantic comedy about two people reunited decades after a youthful pact to touch only once in their lives, exploring memory, restraint and connection.

Maureen Beattie will take the title role in Lear, a new adaptation of Shakespeare’s King Lear by director Finn den Hertog. The production, running in July, will also feature Forbes Masson as Gloucester and designs by Emma Bailey.

The Studio season continues in July with I Can Die Too, a new play with music inspired by Cocteau’s La Voix Humaine. Written by Frances Ruffelle, Sally George and Cumming, the production will be directed by Bill Buckhurst and co-produced with Lovechild Productions. Ruffelle will also appear in the show, which is described as a self-aware exploration of the tension between life and performance.

Cumming and Shirley Henderson will reunite in A History of Paper, co-created by Oliver Emanuel and Gareth Williams and directed by Andrew Panton. The new production, a co-production with Dundee Rep Theatre, will see the pair perform together four decades after first appearing opposite each other in Shadow of the Stone. The musical, which explores memory and connection, first appeared at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2024 and went on to win multiple awards.

In August, Sam Hardie will direct a revival of Iain Heggie’s Wiping My Mother’s Arse, featuring Johnny McKnight. First seen at the Traverse Theatre in 2001, the play examines the realities of dementia and caregiving through a mix of dark humour and compassion.

September will see the world première of I’ll Be Seeing You, written by Martin Sherman and directed by Cumming. We’ve covered it in more detail here.

Later in the autumn, Tony Award-winner Sam Pinkleton will direct the UK première of Ceilidh, a new immersive musical that we’ve covered more here.

The National Theatre of Scotland’s production of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, adapted by David Harrower from Muriel Spark’s novel, will visit the theatre in November. Directed by Vicky Featherstone, the production will star Gayle Rankin.

The 2026 season will conclude with Maria Friedman directing Cumming as Henry Higgins in a new revival of My Fair Lady, which we’ve explored here.

Alongside the stage programme, Pitlochry Festival Theatre will launch two festivals. Out in the Hills will run from 16 to 18 January, celebrating queer voices through theatre, music, conversation and performance, featuring appearances from Ian McKellen, Graham Norton, Val McDermid, Jackie Kay and Armistead Maupin. In February, the theatre’s annual Winter Words festival will return for its 22nd year, bringing together writers, journalists and artists for talks and performances.

Read our interview with Cumming here.

Priority booking for members and patrons opens on 13 November, with general booking from 27 November.