SCOTTISH actor and Yes campaigner Alan Cumming has been announced as the artistic director of Pitlochry Festival Theatre (PFT).
Following an "intensive", three-month recruitment and selection process, PFT has chosen the Emmy-award winning star to take over the role.
He will join the theatre from January 2025, with his programmed season beginning in 2026.
Speaking of his appointment, Cumming said: “For me, all roads lead to the theatre and all roads lead to Scotland.
“I am a theatre animal at heart and, like Robert Burns, my heart is in the Highlands. To become Pitlochry’s Festival Theatre’s artistic director is a homecoming I embrace with all my experience, all my passion and, yes, all my heart.
“This theatre is a hidden gem with the most amazing facilities and boundless possibilities, and I will invite the world’s best theatre artists here and showcase the best of Scotland’s theatrical legacy.
“I want PFT to be a home for everyone and to remain at the heart of the community. And, to quote Burns again, ‘I will dare to be honest and fear no labour’.
“Above all, I cannot wait to share Pitlochry with the world, and the world with Pitlochry.”
The theatre’s current artistic director, Elizabeth Newman, said she “could not think of a better person” to join the theatre.
“Alan is an exceptional artist and an inspiring leader who will catapult the theatre into new and exciting dialogues with artists and audiences here and around the world,” she said.
“I can’t wait to return to the theatre in the future, as a member of the audience this time, to experience the impact of Alan’s artistic direction and the work of the world-class artists he will bring to Pitlochry.”
Newman's six-year tenure in the role will end with a production of The Sound of Music.
Cumming’s programmed season will include productions of The Great Gatsby, Grease, and The 39 Steps as well as four new plays staged in the theatre’s studio.
Executive director of Pitlochry Festival Theatre Kris Bryce commented: “At Pitlochry Festival Theatre, we believe in the transformative power of our work.
"Since the moment we met, I have been completely won over by Alan’s passion – for theatre and for Scotland – by his energy and vision, and by his whole-hearted desire to join us as a steward of this very special place.
"Under his artistic leadership, I am confident we will continue to grow in our role as the nation’s most impactful producing theatre, delivering bold, innovative work that resonates with audiences here and right across the world.
"Through the power of storytelling, I know Alan will continue to gather people together to explore shared human concerns and to create experiences that inspire, engage and empower our communities. I am hugely excited to be working in partnership with him.”
