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NEWS: SCOTTISH OPERA ANNOUNCES 2023/24 SEASON

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Scottish Opera has unveiled its 2023/24 Season, which includes a UK premiere, a Scottish premiere, a Scottish Opera Young Company double bill, and revivals of some of its most beloved productions. The Season promises to be a celebratory showcase of the power and beauty of opera.

Alex Reedijk, Scottish Opera General Director, said: ‘Following the ambition and achievement of our 60th Anniversary Season, we are thrilled to present a 61st Season of exciting premieres and cherished classics – performed across Scotland and continuing the Company’s reputation for high quality opera, artistic flexibility, and innovation.

‘Sir Thomas Allen’s much-loved, whimsical production of Rossini’s The Barber of Seville returns this autumn and tours to Glasgow, Edinburgh, Inverness, and Aberdeen. Next is the UK premiere of Jonathan Dove’s Marx in London! directed by Stephen Barlow, a madcap comedy seeking to unearth the human side of the great theorist. To finish the Season, Verdi’s ever-popular La traviata returns in Sir David McVicar’s sumptuous production – adored around the world and now back home in Scotland.

‘Scottish Opera Young Company presents an innovative, immersive double bill of Henry McPherson’s Maud and Kurt Weill’s Down in the Valley. Our partnership with Lammermuir Festival continues with Richard Strauss’ Daphne, which receives its Scottish premiere 85 years after its first performance. The French Collection offers the variety, innovation, and crowd-pleasing creations of France’s great composers of the 19th and 20th centuries. Opera Highlights, Pop-up Opera, and schools projects travel to all corners of the country, continuing our unabated dedication to bringing opera to everyone in Scotland. This Season you can also see productions that began their lives at Scottish Opera around the world, from Cardiff to Vancouver.

‘While times are hard for all right now, we are hugely proud of the standards of work achieved over recent years. We are immensely grateful for the loyal support of everyone who makes our work possible, and we hope that you find much to enjoy and look forward to welcoming you soon.’

Stuart Stratford, Scottish Opera Music Director, added: ‘There is so much to look forward to in this new season. I am particularly delighted to present the Scottish premiere of Daphne, a rarely performed work by Richard Strauss. It shows the composer at the height of his powers, and the orchestration is not just about the sonic power of seventy instruments but the subtle blending of all the different colour palettes. The singing roles are as virtuosic as the orchestral writing.

‘Jonathan Dove is one of Britain’s most successful international composers, and his Marx in London! is a brilliant satirical take on one of history’s most iconic and divisive thinkers, which gives real human understanding to all of the protagonist’s idiosyncrasies. It has a really poignant conclusion, relevant to us all today.

‘We are also thrilled to be reviving The Barber of Seville, this time in English, which promises only to strengthen the riotous hilarity of this comic masterpiece. An incredible, first rate cast features in La traviata, originally directed by Sir David McVicar, whose production of Il trittico blew audiences away earlier this year.’

A truly international line-up of singers appears throughout the season. Making their debuts with the Company are Ross Cumming, Paul Hopwood, Inna Husieva, Claire Barnett-Jones, Jerome Knox, Innocent Masuku, Simone McIntosh, Ji-Min Park and Katy Thomson.

There are welcome return visits from Katherine Aitken, Orla Boylan, Francis Church, Alasdair Elliott, Anthony Gregory, Catriona Hewitson, Thomas D Hopkinson, Heather Ireson, Samuel Dale Johnson, Jessica Leary, Hye-Youn Lee, Monwabisi Lindi, Jamie MacDougall, Andrew McTaggart, William Morgan, Colin Murray, Shengzhi Ren, Lucy Schaufer, Lea Shaw, Paula Sides, David Stout, Roland Wood, and Dingle Yandell. 

 

Season 2023/24 Productions

Opening the season this September is the Scottish premiere of Richard Strauss’ Daphne. It forms part of the Opera in Concert series, curated by Scottish Opera Music Director, Stuart Stratford, who is passionate about introducing audiences to rarely performed works. Emma Jenkins (Opera Highlights 2022/23) directs this concert staging, featuring Hye-Youn Lee, Shengzhi Ren, Claire Barnett-Jones and Dingle Yandell, accompanied by The Orchestra of Scottish Opera. Originally premiered 85 years ago, this wistful one-act opera is loosely based on Greek mythology as told in Ovid’s Metamorphoses and Euripides’ The Bacchae. Performed first at Theatre Royal Glasgow, Daphne will then go to St Mary’s Parish Church in Haddington, in partnership with Lammermuir Festival, and to the Usher Hall in Edinburgh in December.

Daphne is supported by Friends of Scottish Opera and The Scottish Opera Endowment Trust.

Sir Thomas Allen’s riotous production of Rossini’s The Barber of Seville, designed by Simon Higlett, opens in October at Theatre Royal Glasgow. First seen in 2007, this is the third time Scottish Opera has presented this delightful comedy, and it tours to Edinburgh, Inverness and Aberdeen. Stuart Stratford conducts Samuel Dale Johnson (Eugene Onegin and Pagliacci 2018) as the titular barber, with Anthony Gregory (Anthropocene 2019) and Simone McIntosh as Count Almaviva and Rosina. Also joining the cast are David Stout (Nixon in China 2020) as Doctor Bartolo, Dingle Yandell (Thérèse 2022) as Don Basilio and Inna Husieva as Berta.

This revival is sung in an English translation by Amanda Holden (Falstaff 2021), and tells the story of barber and fixer, Figaro, who is enlisted by Count Almaviva to woo the beautiful Rosina. However, he first has to deal with Rosina’s guardian Doctor Bartolo who keeps her under lock and key with the intent of marrying her himself.

The Barber of Seville is supported by The Scottish Opera Syndicate.

In February 2024, the UK premiere of Jonathan Dove’s Marx in London! takes place at Theatre Royal Glasgow, before transferring to Edinburgh. The production is directed by Stephen Barlow (who last worked with the Company on Dove’s Flight), with libretto by Charles Hart, and set designs by Yannis Thavoris.

David Parry conducts Roland Wood (Il trittico 2023) as Karl Marx, alongside Paula Sides and William Morgan, last seen together in 2022 in Scottish Opera’s five-star production of Candide. They are joined by Orla Boylan (Breaking the Waves 2020) Lucy Schaufer (The Diary of One Who Disappeared 2020), Alasdair Elliot (The Miserly Knight 2022), Jamie MacDougall (Il trittico 2023) and Paul Hopwood.

Originally written for the 200th Anniversary of Karl Marx’s birth, Marx in London! is set in 1871 over the course of a single summer’s day, and is an examination of the philosopher’s more human side. The spectre of communism might be haunting Europe, but Marx’s demons are far more mundane and closer to home, and his personal life is in chaos. Watched by a spy, chased by debt collectors, harried by his family (legitimate and not), and rescued repeatedly from financial ruin by Friedrich Engels, audiences can expect a madcap production filled with zany humour.

Marx in London! is supported by The Alexander Gibson Circle and Scottish Opera’s New Commissions Circle.

Audiences in Glasgow, Inverness, Aberdeen, and Edinburgh have the chance to experience a revival of Sir David McVicar’s La traviata in May and June 2024. This treasured production, which began life at Scottish Opera in 2008, has frequently been seen at the houses of co-producers Teatro Real Madrid, Gran Teatre del Liceu, and Welsh National Opera.

Stuart Stratford conducts Hye-Youn Lee (Carmen 2023) in the role of courtesan Violetta Valéry who throws herself into a doomed love affair with the idealistic Alfredo, sung by Ji-Min Park. Set in hedonistic Paris during the Belle Époque, the luscious design of this devastating Verdi tragedy is by Tanya McCallin. Reviving Sir David McVicar’s original production is director is Leo Castaldi.

La traviata is supported by Scottish Opera’s ‘Play a Supporting Role’ Appeal.

In March 2024, Stuart Stratford conducts The French Collection. Few cities saw as much innovation and creative output in opera as Paris did during the 19th century. With three major opera houses and composers from France and further abroad vying for a coveted premiere at one (or more) of them, French opera contains a vast variety of musical and dramatic styles as its artists pushed boundaries on stage and in the pit. This concert includes excerpts from some of the era’s grandest and most beloved operas as well as its rarer gems that deserve a second hearing, including works by Georges Bizet, Charles Gounod and Jules Massenet.

The Orchestra of Scottish Opera captures the vivacity and grandeur of this uniquely brilliant musical epoch, accompanying a first rate group of singers to be announced later this year. This night of romance, drama and beautiful music will be performed in Caird Hall, Dundee and Glasgow Royal Concert Hall.

The French Collection is supported by Friends of Scottish Opera and The Scottish Opera Endowment Trust.

 

Opera Highlights

Opera Highlights goes on the road again visiting 35 venues around Scotland, in a vibrant new production directed by Laura Attridge (The Miserly Knight and Mavra 2022) with designs by the internationally renowned Ana Inés Jabares-Pita.

The troupe of talented singers performing in this one-of-a-kind show are Katy Thomson, Katherine Aitken, Innocent Masuku and Jerome Knox in the autumn production, which travels to Giffnock, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Strathmiglo, Newtonmore, Lossiemouth, Ardross, Thurso, Lochinver, Arisaig, Seil Island, Tillicoultry, Glasgow, Dumfries, Crawfordjohn, Maybole, and Musselburgh.

In the spring, Scottish Opera’s 2023/24 Emerging, and Associate, Artists Inna Husieva, Lea Shaw, Monwabisi Lindi and Ross Cumming tour to Greenock, Stirling, Ardrishaig, Blairgowrie, Peterhead, Aboyne, Strathpeffer, Tongue, Stornoway, Poolewe, Dornie, Ballachulish, Tobermory, Johnstone, Middleton, Duns, St Andrews and Largs.

Accompanying them on piano are Music Directors Toby Hession (autumn) and James Longford (spring).

Opera Highlights is supported by Friends of Scottish Opera, Forteviot Charitable Trust and Jimmie Cairncross Charitable Trust.

 

Scottish Opera Young Company

This July at Scottish Opera’s Production Studios in Glasgow, Barrfields Theatre in Largs and Stirling’s Albert Halls, four immersive performances of Henry McPherson’s Maud, and Kurt Weill’s Down in the Valley, will be performed by Scottish Opera’s Young Company, directed by Flora Emily Thomson.  Aged 17 to 21, the 11 members of the Company rehearse throughout the year with Artistic Director Chris Gray, who also conducts, to present this thought-provoking double bill, which moves between centuries. The operas are connected by a single Hebridean-inspired set, designed by Finlay McLay.

Maud, by composer, improviser and teacher, Henry McPherson, is a modern retelling of a traditional folk tale. It received its premiere in 2018 at Glasgow’s SWG3 as a winner of Scottish Opera’s Opera Sparks competition.

It is performed alongside composer Kurt Weill’s and librettist Arnold Sundgaard’s magical and menacing folk-inspired opera Down in the Valley, a bittersweet coming-of-age tale showing the light and darkness of one claustrophobic community.

Scottish Opera Young Company offers young singers a unique and practical introduction to the world of opera and the chance to develop their talent through a year-long programme, working with a range of opera professionals. The Company most recently premiered Gareth Williams’ and Johnny McKnight’s acclaimed production of Rubble last summer.

Maud and Down in the Valley are supported by Scottish Opera’s New Commissions Circle, Scottish Opera’s Education Angels, the Leverhulme Trust, Professor Richard Rose and Gordon Fraser Charitable Trust.

 

Pop-up Opera

This summer Scottish Opera’s popular Pop-up Opera tour kicks off on 27 May at the Dumfries and Galloway Arts Festival, with 30-minute shows for all the family, including A Little Bit of Die Fledermaus and A Little Bit of Eugene Onegin.

Experience opera on a miniature scale with performances brought to life by a storyteller, singers, instrumentalists, narration and colourful illustrations. Touring to Sanquhar, Moniaive, Linlithgow, Blantyre, Springburn, Stornoway, Dornoch, Strathpeffer, Cruden Bay and Dundee, schoolchildren can also look forward to the tour popping up in primary schools across these locations for free performances of Puffy MacPuffer and the Crabbit Canals, which has narration by Allan Dunn, music and lyrics by Marion Christie and illustrations by Iain Piercy.

An ideal opportunity for anyone new to opera to try a taster of these classics by Strauss II and Tchaikovsky, a series of colourful illustrations help guide audiences through the plot. Cleverly re-scored by Scottish Opera’s former Head of Music, Derek Clark, they are performed by storyteller Allan Dunn alongside singers Jessica Leary and Andrew McTaggart, cellists Andrew Drummond Huggan and Sonia Cromarty, and guitarists Sasha Savaloni and Ian Watt (Ainadamar 2022).

Pop-up Opera is supported by Friends of Scottish Opera and JTH Charitable Trust.

 

Emerging Artists

The Scottish Opera Emerging Artists programme offers young talent a period of full-time work with the Company to help launch their careers. This season they include returning mezzo-soprano Lea Shaw (Il trittico 2023) as Associate Artist, along with Ukrainian soprano Inna Husieva, South African tenor Monwabisi Lindi, and Scottish baritone Ross Cumming. The costume trainee and repetiteur are still to be announced.

Emerging Artist singers perform in a number of this season’s productions and tours, and in recitals at the University of Glasgow and Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. They are supported by Scottish Opera’s Emerging Artist Benefactors and Elizabeth Salvesen.

 

Scottish Opera Education and Outreach

In spring and summer 2024, the ever-popular Primary Schools Tour for children in primaries five to seven is the newly created show Vikings! The Quest for the Dragon’s Treasure. Vikings! can be facilitated with an in-person workshop day led by Scottish Opera teaching artists, with full rental of props and costumes, or entirely within the classroom by teachers themselves. In both, teachers receive materials in advance.

How The Dragon Was Made is an interactive performance project for all 27 Confucius Institute classroom hub schools, designed to explore Chinese culture and language through music and visual arts. Senior primary classes use the digital resources to create their own performances that introduce one of China’s most ancient folk tales to the youngest pupils.

This year, Scottish Opera also offers teaching resources for Secondary School pupils. Having worked alongside Largs Academy to develop the materials suitable for young people, The Elixir of Love: Three Ways to Stage an Opera is a free teaching resource for teachers. Pupils will learn about music, drama, and art and design – incorporating elements of history, storytelling, and critical thinking – as they explore Donizetti’s comedy through three interpretations.

Scottish Opera continues to offer its Memory Spinners project for those living with dementia. The free project uses music, storytelling, movement, and visual arts to help Glasgow-based people living with dementia get creative and form new support networks. Throughout each eight-week term, they share memories that are then incorporated into a relaxed performance for friends and family.

Memory Spinners is supported by The RS MacDonald Charitable Trust, Sylvia Aitken Charitable Trust, Bellahouston Bequest Fund, Trades House of Glasgow (Commonwealth Fund), and Scottish Opera’s Education Angels.

The ground-breaking online programme, Breath Cycle, was formed with the Respiratory and Cystic Fibrosis Medicine team at NHS Glasgow. Designed to benefit those living with conditions affecting lung health – particularly Long COVID – free resources introduce participants to vocal exercises and breathing techniques. The response is overwhelmingly positive, with participants citing improvement in breathing, energy levels and mood. To find out more, please visit our website, where you can access a series of short tutorials and exercises, or sign up for weekly online sessions and song writing workshops.

‘The Covid Composer’s Songbook’, a selection of songs written by Breath Cycle participants, has been recorded for anyone to use and enjoy. Visit Scottish Opera’s website to download the full collection.

Supported by The Scottish Government, Cruach Trust, The Murdoch Forrest Charitable Trust, W M Mann Foundation, Souter Charitable Trust and Scottish Opera’s Education Angels

Scottish Opera continues its fruitful partnership with Disney Musicals in Schools. Collaborating with primary schools with no previous engagement with the arts and often facing a range of social and economic challenges, teaching artists guide pupils through rehearsals for special adaptations of Disney musicals and provide training for teachers to build their pupils’ skills and confidence through performance arts, creating a sustainable arts legacy for the future. The Company recently worked with Disney and pupils from St Anthony’s Primary School in Renfrewshire, to present the first official Frozen kids show outside of America. The performance was part of a three-day workshop with over 600 pupils from 11 schools who performed songs from Aladdin, The Jungle Book and The Lion King as well as Frozen. 

Scottish Opera’s Opera in Schools programme is supported by Harbinson Charitable Trust, David & June Gordon Memorial Trust, Hayward Sanderson Trust, Scottish Opera’s Education Angels and JTH Charitable Trust.

Places are available in Scottish Opera’s Community Choir, open to adults of all ages and conducted by Katy Lavinia Cooper, which starts up again in September. The choir sings a mixture of opera, classical, popular, folk and world music, and meets every Wednesday.

The Community Choir is supported by Scottish Opera’s Education Angels.

 

Accessible Performances

Scottish Opera is offering a range of accessible performances, to ensure everyone has the opportunity to enjoy a live opera experience that is inclusive and welcoming. With Access Opera performances and audio-description available this year, the Company aims to make it as easy as possible to attend the opera.

Specially created Access performances of The Barber of Seville and La traviata run alongside the mainstage productions in Glasgow and Edinburgh. With Dementia Friendly values at their core, afternoon Access performances are for those who enjoy a more relaxed opera experience. With a shorter running time (under two hours including an interval) and tickets at just £10, these audio-described performances are open to all, including those who may be living with dementia or Long COVID, more comfortable at a shorter show, struggling to get to evening performances, or would simply benefit from the more relaxed atmosphere.

Those who are visually impaired can also take advantage of audio-described performances of all three main stage productions – The Barber of Seville, Marx in London! and La traviata – where a live commentary is provided by a specialist audio describer during the show, describing the action on stage without compromising the music. As part of the experience, a recorded introduction to the opera is available in advance, as well as a live audio introduction before the start of the performance.

Pre-show talks are also available. These half-hour sessions delve into the detail of each opera, enhancing the audience enjoyment and extending knowledge of the piece.

Further information on the 2023/24 Season can be found at www.scottishopera.org.uk

Tickets go on sale from 1 June.

NEWS: Casting announced for new Johnny McKnight musical at Oran Mor

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A Play, A Pie and A Pint (PPP) is delighted to announce the cast of Meet Me At The Knob, an upcoming musical by Johnny McKnight inspired by the real-life Glaswegian gang, the White Hats, who committed a series of crimes in 1920’s Broomielaw whilst dressed in drag.

Directed by PPP’s Artistic Director Jemima Levick, this new raucous musical stars BBC River City regular and pantomime favourite Darren Brownlie, as the gang leader William ‘Liz’ Haton, alongside actor Tom Urie (Guilt,Still Game) and theatre star Dylan Wood (549: Scots of the Spanish Civil War, Underwood Lane).

Meet Me At The Knob will feature original music by Novasound, Scotland’s only female-run recording and production studio comprised of Lauren Gilmour and Audrey Tait, best known as the drummer in Brit award winning Scottish band Franz Ferdinand.

This new show will perform at Òran Mór, Glasgow for one week only 5-10 June 2023 as part of PPP’s Spring ‘Fresh Perspectives’ season.

Venue: Òran Mór, Glasgow
Dates: Mon 5 – Sat 10 June 2023, 1pm
Tickets: £12.50-£17.50 (includes food and drink)
Box Office: 0141 357 6211
Website: http://www.playpiepint.com

WHAT’S ON: Martin McCormick’s powerful play THE MAGGIE WALL to return to Pitlochry Festival Theatre

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This June, the Pitlochry Festival Theatre production of The Maggie Wall, Martin McCormick’s acclaimed play, is set to make  a welcome return to the Studio in Pitlochry from 9 to 28 June.

The play was inspired by a mysterious monument built in Dunning in Perthshire, commemorating the death of a woman who was supposedly tried and executed in the 17th century for witchcraft.

Co–produced with Aberdeen Arts Centre, The Maggie Wall explores the vulnerability of women and the injustices suffered by them in a patriarchal and closed community, resonating with contemporary experiences, as well as reminding us of a chapter of Scottish and British history in which many people, predominantly women, were accused, tried and killed as suspected witches.

 ‘The Maggie Wall’ is the site of a mysterious marker to a woman tried and executed in the 17th century for witchcraft. It’s a collection of stones standing about 20 feet high, bearing the words in white lettering, “Maggie Wall burnt here 1657 as a witch”.

The mystery, however, is that no record of a woman called Maggie Wall has ever been discovered. There is no evidence of her crimes, and nothing to indicate what she did to warrant the label of ‘witch’. Historians now believe that Maggie Wall’s monument  is, in fact, a memorial to honour the memory of all the women executed, using Maggie as a mythical figure to represent those who were accused of witchcraft and lost their lives as a result.

The Maggie Wall is performed by acclaimed Scottish actress Blythe Jandoo whose theatre credits include Gypsy and Sunshine on Leith (Pitlochry Festival Theatre), Peter Pan (Clyde Auditorium Glasgow), and who featured in the Walt Disney Picture’s Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast. Blythe is currently appearing in the Pitlochry Festival Theatre’s 2023 production of Gypsy and will shortly be seen at the Theatre in The Secret Garden.

Perthshire based Martin McCormick is a writer, actor and director. He won the Critics’ Awards Theatre in Scotland (CATS) award for Best New Play in 2014 for his play Squash. His theatre credits include 22 Mays (Pitlochry Festival Theatre), South Bend (Grid Iron), Ma, Pa and the Little Mouths (National Theatre of Scotland/Tron Theatre), The Day The Pope Emptied Croy (Traverse Theatre) and most recently Oh When the Saints (Perth Theatre).

Martin McCormick said about the return of The Maggie Wall:

“I’m thrilled that Pitlochry Festival Theatre’s production of The Maggie Wall, along with Amy’s direction and Blythe’s performance, are reaching a wider audience in 2023. Maggie’s story is a fictionalised account of an individual tried and executed as a witch in 17th century rural Scotland. However, the themes of my narrative; a young woman being persecuted, subjugated, and imprisoned by a patriarchy, are tragically valid and real.”

Director of Aberdeen Arts Centre Amy Liptrott added:

“The Maggie Wall is a visceral, intimate, and thought-provoking play. I feel very lucky to be directing Blythe Jandoo again for a co-production of Martin’s brilliant play with Pitlochry Festival Theatre, and in October, the production will be part of a very special celebration at Aberdeen Arts Centre. The persecution Maggie suffers, sadly, isn’t a thing of fiction and, in sharing her story, we remember the injustice of the Witch Trials and the injustice consistently suffered by persecuted people ever since.”

The Maggie Wall will be in the Studio at Pitlochry Festival Theatre from 9 to 28 June.

Tickets for The Maggie Wall are available from the Pitlochry Festival Theatre Box Office on 01796 484626 or online at www.pitlochryfestivaltheatre.com

WHAT’S ON: Dear Billy (a love letter to the Big Yin) at The King’s

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There’s a guy. You know him. You know…big hair, wee beard, glasses, talks like that. You know? You know. The guy…The Big Yin.

Billy Connolly needs no introduction. He is a national treasure. From the shipyards of the Clydeside to his trailblazing and extraordinary stage and movie exploits, he is woven into Scottish culture.

Everyone has a Billy Story.

An expert team of story gatherers has created a collection of these moving and hilarious tales. Gary McNair, one of Scotland’s best theatre makers, has turned these stories into a special show celebrating the Big Yin and what he means to us.

Gary is hitting the road with a band, collecting more stories as they go, making every show different.

Each one a unique chance to laugh, sing, and celebrate the man and the legend.

Written and performed by Gary McNair, directed by Joe Douglas, Music by Simon Liddell.

Thu 22 Jun – Sat 24 Jun 2023 KING’S THEATRE GLASGOW

Tickets Here

WHAT’S ON: The Food of Love at the Tron

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Conceal me what I am, and be my aid for such disguise as haply shall become the form of my intent.

Viola conceals herself as a servant to Duke Orsino, Malvolio manipulates others whilst deceiving himself, Andrew is not as tough as he makes out, and Feste’s mask is in danger of slipping. All are looking for love but must endure pain and suffering to find it.

Tron Young Company invite you to a new adaptation of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, using contemporary spoken word and song to present an updated version of the classic tale, with new perspectives on gender and sexuality, love and desire, disguise and deception.

Recommended Age | 16+

Written by MARTIN O’CONNOR with the Company

Photography by Eoin Carey

Tickets here

WHAT’S ON: Moorcroft at The Tron

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A team. A team of wit? A team of players. A bunch of mates coming the gither to huv a kick aboot. Wits new?

Garry’s turned 50 but doesn’t feel like celebrating. Exhausted from years spent wrapped in regret, he begins to relive ‘the glory days’, trying to understand his mistakes, answer questions and right some wrongs in a bid to make peace with his past and find renewed purpose.

Inspired by true stories, Moorcroft follows a group of young lads in search of an escape from their working class lives. But can playing football save them from the challenges they face and make them the men they want to be?

With true friendship and the tenacity of working class people at its heart, Moorcroft tackles toxic masculinity in Scotland and asks ‘what is a real man?’ The hit show returns for extra-time after a sell-out run in 2022.

Showing from Thu 13 — Sat 29 Jul 2023 at The Tron

Tickets here

WHAT’S ON: Heathers in Glasgow in June

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Following two smash hit West End seasons, a record-breaking run at The Other Palace and winning the WhatsOnStage award for BEST NEW MUSICAL, Heathers the Musical, the black comedy rock musical based on the eponymous 1989 film, embarks on a new national tour. Arriving in Glasgow on 27 June 2023.

Westerberg High’s Veronica Sawyer is just another nobody dreaming of a better day. But when she joins the beautiful and impossibly cruel Heathers and her dreams of popularity may finally come true, mysterious teen rebel JD teaches her that it might kill to be a nobody, but it is murder being a somebody.

KING’S THEATRE Tue 27 Jun – Sat 1 Jul 2023 – tickets here

**Please note that this production contains strong language and mature themes including: references to suicide and eating disorders; moments of violence; murder; sexual content; sexual violence; gunshots and flashing lights.

 

WHAT’S ON: Rory Bremner stars in Quiz at The King’s

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Comedian Rory Bremner will play Chris Tarrant in a provocative drama that explores the Who Wants to be a Millionaire coughing scandal.

Written by James Graham, Quiz, will play in Glasgow as part of a UK tour after an award-winning West End run in 2018 and 2020’s successful three-part ITV adaptation starring Michael Sheen, will open on Tuesday 9 October for five nights.

The production explores the real-life story of Charles Ingram, aka the Coughing Major, who conned the world’s most popular TV quiz show, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire out of £1,000,000. Or did he?

Ticketholders will have the opportunity to judge the case for themselves via interactive finger-pads in ultimate ask-the-audience style.  Throughout the show the audience will be asked whether they thought Ingram was guilty or not guilty, with the votes displayed on stage.

Speaking of taking on the role of presenter Chris Tarrant, Rory Bremner said: “I’m very excited about this; not just the challenge of playing Chris Tarrant in long form but bringing the scandal that really caught the public’s imagination to a live audience every night. What really happened? The jury’s out – and this time it’s you!

“I didn’t have to phone-a-friend. It wasn’t even 50/50. This was a role I had to take on, with A: a brilliant director; B: a terrific script; C: a different audience live each night; and D: a story that divides opinion to this day. Final answer? Ask the audience!”

THE KING’S THEATRE, GLASGOW

TUESDAY 10 – SATURDAY 13 OCTOBER 2023

Tickets here

NEWS: West End performers set to bring the Pitlochry hills alive with the sounds of the greatest musicals

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West End musical performers and Pitlochry Festival Theatre summer 2023 ensemble members Shona White and Ben Stock are set to bring the Pitlochry hills alive with the sounds of some of the greatest musicals of all time when they perform a series of must-see concerts this summer at Pitlochry Festival Theatre.

 The Greatest Musicals of All Time and West End Musical Extravaganza feature some of the greatest show-stopping songs from the musicals we all know and love.

Prepare to enjoy The Greatest Musicals of All Time, an electrifying musical concert taking audiences on the full spectrum of the human experience through the alchemy of great composers. The concert features performances of unforgettable songs such as “There’s No Business Like Show Business” from Annie Get Your Gun, “Do Re Mi” from the Sound of Music, “Maybe this time” from Cabaret, “I’m Not That Girl” from Wicked,  “Send in the Clowns” from A Little Night Music, “Suddenly Seymour” from Little Shop of Horrors and “Don’t Rain on My Parade” from Funny Girl.

And take your seats for West End Musical Extravaganza, a wonderful medley of smash hits from the musical theatre stages of London’s famous West End featuring smash hit songs including “I Know Him So Well” from Chess,  “Luck be a Lady” from Guys and Dolls, “Oom pah pah and As Long As He Needs Me ” from Oliver!, “Winner Takes It All” from Mamma Mia!,    “Any Dream Will Do” from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat,   “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” from Mary Poppins, “On My Own” from Les Misérables, and many more classic songs.

Both  concerts  feature two wonderful performers who have regularly starred on the West End stage. Fife born Shona White, who will be playing Mamma Rose in the forthcoming Pitlochry Festival Theatre production of the musical Gypsy, has performed in the West End in Wicked (Apollo Victoria), The Rocky Horror Show (UK Tour and Playhouse, London), Mamma Mia! (Prince Edward) and the award winning Donmar Warehouse production of Merrily We Roll Along. Shona most recently appeared in the National Theatre production of Jack Absolute Flies Again.

Shona White said about the forthcoming concerts:

“Growing up in Fife inspired by the old movie musicals on TV, I played Annie in my local Children’s Theatre and was hooked! After 25 years of performing in musicals all over the world it is thrilling to be bringing these concerts so close to home with the fabulous Ben Stock.”

Shona will be joined onstage by fellow Gypsy cast member Ben Stock, who is making a welcome return to the Pitlochry Festival Theatre for the first time in 10 years having appeared in, amongst other productions, Hello Dolly and A Chorus of Disapproval. Ben’s West End credits include Grease, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, as well as appearing on tour as Lumiere in the much-loved musical Beauty and the Beast.

Ben Stock added:

“Ever since my first show at the age of 10, music from musicals has been a soundtrack of my life.  I was in the Pitlochry Festival Theatre ensemble in 2013 and it’s really exciting to be bringing some of the songs that have inspired me, and that I have performed in shows, to the Pitlochry stage. All alongside the brilliant Shona White.”

The Greatest Musicals of All Time will be performed on 23 May; 24 June; 1, 13 and 25 July, 10 August and 2, and 17 September.

The West End Musical Extravaganza will be performed on 25 May; 18 & 29 June; 16 July; 1 & 13 August and 7 & 21 September.

Tickets are priced from £16 and can be purchased by calling 01796 484626 or online at http://www.pitlochryfestivaltheatre.com/whats-on

NEWS: Sunshine on Leith to be Pitlochry Festival Theatre’s Winter production

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Pitlochry Festival Theatre is excited to announce Sunshine on Leith, Stephen Greenhorn’s much-loved musical featuring the songs from world-renowned Scottish band The Proclaimers, is set to play in Pitlochry this Winter.

Photo: Fraser Band

Sunshine on Leith sees the return of service members Davy and Ally from war overseas, to be confronted with civilian life relationships, blind dates, and new responsibilities. As the pair embark on intertwining journeys of love, they begin to question what home really means to them as they rediscover their sense of identity.

Set to the classic songs of the much-loved The Proclaimers, including “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles), “Letter from America” and of course the emotive “Sunshine on Leith”, this feel-good Scottish musical asks the question, would you walk 500 miles for love?

 Sunshine on Leith was originally staged at Dundee Rep in 2007 before being transformed into the 2013 smash hit feature film adaptation starring Jane Horrocks and Peter Mullan.

Originally conceived last year in partnership with Capital Theatres, Sunshine on Leith will run at Pitlochry Festival Theatre from 17 November till 23 December.

Further information about casting will be announced in the coming months.

The 2023 Autumn season will also see the world stage première in the theatre’s Studio of Cathy Forde’s new play Helping Hands directed by the Pitlochry Festival Theatre’s Associate Director Ben Occhipinti.

Tickets for the Pitlochry Festival Theatre revival of Sunshine on Leith and the première of Helping Hands , will go on sale on Wednesday 17 May and will be available from the box office on 01796 484626 or online at http://www.pitlochryfestivaltheatre.com

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