Scottish star of stage and screen Alan Cumming has been announced as the new Artistic Director of Pitlochry Festival Theatre from January 2025, with his first programmed season opening in 2026.
Cumming made his professional stage debut at the Tron Theatre in Glasgow forty years ago, but has since become well known on both sides of the Atlantic, from the West End to Broadway to Hollywood blockbusters. He takes over at Pitlochry from Elizabeth Newman, whose last production as director, The Sound of Music, will run up to Christmas 2024.
He said of his appointment, “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 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 thrilling theatrical legacy. I want Pitlochry Festival Theatre 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 Executive Director, Kris Bryce, said, "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."
Crawford Gillies, Chair of Pitlochry Festival Theatre, added, "I would also like to extend my heartfelt thanks to Elizabeth Newman, whose six-year tenure as Artistic Director has been instrumental in positioning the theatre where it is today. With Alan’s appointment, we continue to look forward to the brightest of futures."