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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: 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

NEWS: Pitlochry Festival Theatre to open 2023 Season with new production of the much-loved musical Gypsy

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Pitlochry Festival Theatre is set to open its exciting 2023 Season in May in a most spectacular way with the first staging in Scotland for nearly 20 years of Gypsy, Jule Styne, Arthur Laurents and Stephen Sondheim’s iconic musical.

Pitlochry Festival Theatre – 2023 Cast.

Gypsy is one of the greatest and most dazzling of all musicals. Based on the tantalising comedic memoirs of famous striptease artist Gypsy Rose Lee, it tells the amusing and sassy story of pushy showbiz mother Rose, who travels across America with her daughters, Baby June and Louise, in search of success with their homemade vaudeville act.

When Baby June leaves the act to elope, Rose vows to make introverted Louise into a star, and will do almost anything to see her daughter break into the big time.

Featuring the iconic songs Some People, Let Me Entertain You, and the show-stopping Everything’s Coming Up Roses, Gypsy is set to be a cracking night out that will have audiences humming all the way into the night as they leave the theatre.

Gypsy’s exciting cast will feature Shona White (Jack Absolute Flies Again, National Theatre, Mamma Mia!, West End and Merrily We Roll Along, Donmar Warehouse) as Mamma Rose; Blythe Jandoo (The Maggie Wall and Sunshine on Leith, Pitlochry Festival Theatre and A Mother’s Song: A New Folk Musical, Macrobert Arts Centre) as Louise; Patricia Panther (Peter Pan and Wendy, Pitlochry Festival Theatre and Orphans and Glasgow Girls, National Theatre of Scotland) as June; Ben Stock (Grease and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, West End) as Herbie; Oliver Cookson (Hay Fever and Travels with my Aunt, Assembly Roxy) as Pop Rose/Mr Goldstone); Matthew Churcher (Animal Farm, National Tour/Fiery Angel & Birmingham Rep, Peter Pan, National Theatre/Bristol Old Vic and White Teeth, Kiln Theatre) as LA/Cigar; Rachael McAllister (Little Women and A Christmas Carol, Pitlochry Festival Theatre) as Mazeppa; Robbie Scott (Peter Pan and Wendy, Pitlochry Festival Theatre) as Tulsa; Joseph Tweedale (The Meaning of Zong, Bristol Old Vic and The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, Theatre Clwyd) as Yonkers/Weber; Jack Ward (Bridgerton, Netflix) as Angie; Trudy Ward (As You Like It, Jupiter Theatre) as Electra/ Agnes, and Kristin Weichen Wong (Field- Something For The Future Now, Edinburgh International Festival) as Tessie Tura.

Gypsy is directed by Pitlochry Festival Theatre’s Associate Director Ben Occhipinti (Blonde Bombshells in 1943 and co-director Sunshine on Leith, Pitlochry Festival Theatre), Designed by Liz Cooke, lighting by Kate Bonney, Musical Direction by Rob Hiley (CATS nominated for Blonde Bombshells in 1943), Choreography by Maggie Rawlinson and Sound Design by Lorna Munden.

Ben Occhipinti said:

“Gypsy is one of the most loved and powerful musicals ever written. I have wanted to direct it ever since I discovered the film years ago. I can’t think of another musical that brings the combined elements of drama, song and dance together in such a clear and joyful way. The combination of Sondheim’s exquisite lyrics and Styne’s beautiful melodies make Gypsy an enduring, powerful story. I can’t wait to bring it to life on the Pitlochry stage with such a talented and brilliant company.”

Gypsy runs at Pitlochry Festival Theatre from 19 May till 30 September.

Tickets for Gypsy are now on sale and are available from the Pitlochry Festival Theatre Box Office on 01796 484626 or online at www.pitlochryfestivaltheatre.com

 

NEWS: Pitlochry Festival Theatre announces Ensemble for 2023 season.

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Pitlochry Festival Theatre is delighted to announce its Ensemble for the 2023 season, which runs between May and late September this summer.

Pitlochry Festival Theatre’s exciting 19-strong Ensemble will feature John Michie (DI Robbie Ross in Taggart and Karl Munro in Coronation Street, both on ITV and Guy Self in Holby City, BBC); Kirsty Stuart (Adventures with the Painted People and Faith Healer, Pitlochry Festival Theatre, Othello, Frantic Assembly, Call The Midwife, BBC and Shetland, BBC Scotland); Sally Reid (PC Sarah Fletcher in Scot Squad, BBC Scotland and Shirley Valentine, Pitlochry Festival Theatre); Shona White (Jack Absolute Flies Again, National Theatre, Mamma Mia!, West End and Merrily We Roll Along, Donmar Warehouse); Benny Young (Monarch of the Glen; Pitlochry Festival Theatre, Brian Dunkley in Coronation Street, ITV; Shetland, BBC as well as appearing in the Oscar winning films Chariots of Fire and Out of Africa (opposite Robert Redford and Meryl Streep) Nalini Chetty (Cyrano, Citizens Theatre/NTS, Zinnie Hassoun in River City, BBC and will shortly be seen in Gregory Burke’s new ITV Drama Six-Four); Blythe Jandoo (The Maggie Wall and Sunshine on Leith, Pitlochry Festival Theatre and A Mother’s Song: A New Folk Musical, Macrobert Arts Centre); Matthew Trevannion (War Horse, National Theatre, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night, West End and Othello, Frantic Assembly);  Patricia Panther (Peter Pan and Wendy, Pitlochry Festival Theatre and Orphans and Glasgow Girls, National Theatre of Scotland) and Deirdre Davis (Eileen Donachie in River City, BBC Scotland and Monarch of The Glen, Pitlochry Festival Theatre).

The ensemble will also feature Matthew Churcher (Animal Farm, National Tour/Fiery Angel & Birmingham Rep, Peter Pan, National Theatre/Bristol Old Vic and White Teeth, Kiln Theatre); Oliver Cookson (Hay Fever and Travels with my Aunt, Assembly Roxy); Rachael McAllister (Little Women and A Christmas Carol, Pitlochry Festival Theatre); Keith Macpherson (Sunshine on Leith, Pitlochry Festival Theatre, Waiting for Godot, Citizens Theatre and Stan and Ollie, BBC Films); Robbie Scott (Peter Pan and Wendy, Pitlochry Festival Theatre); Marc Small (TV credits include The IT Crowd, Jonathan Creek and recently appeared in the Amazon Prime film The People We Hate At The Wedding with Ben Platt);  Ben Stock (Grease and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, West End and A Chorus of Disapproval and Hello Dolly, Pitlochry Festival Theatre); Joseph Tweedale (The Meaning of Zong, Bristol Old Vic and The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, Theatre Clwyd);  Jack Ward (Bridgerton, Netflix); Trudy Ward (As You Like It, Jupiter Theatre) and Kristin Weichen Wong (Field- Something For The Future Now, Edinburgh International Festival).

Festival Theatre’s Artistic Director Elizabeth Newman said about the talented Ensemble:

“It has been an inspiring experience bringing together the Summer season Ensemble this year. We are thrilled to share the news of all the talented people who are coming to Pitlochry for the first time as well as some brilliant returning collaborators. We did a big open call again this year. And two of our wonderful ensemble members came from the open-call self-tape process and several others came from the Spotlight open process too.

Every member of the Ensemble offers different skills and experiences to the season, which I am sure will help us to make rich and thrilling work for our audiences to enjoy. The actors in our Ensemble continue to be the life blood of the season and their hard work always has a profound effect on audiences and delights all our visitors.”

Running from 19 May until 30 September, the 2023 season Ensemble will feature in revivals of the legendary musical Gypsy (19 May – 30 September) and Tennessee Williams’ masterpiece A Streetcar Named Desire (2 June – 30 September), the Scottish première of Emma Rice’s acclaimed stage adaptation of Noël Coward’s screenplay for the film Brief Encounter (16 June-29 September);  Peter Arnott’s new play Group Portrait In A Summer Landscape (25 August – 28 September), co-produced by Pitlochry Festival Theatre with the Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh and directed by The Lyceum’s Artistic Director David Greig and the première of acclaimed Scottish playwright Isla Cowan’s (She Wolf, Edinburgh Festival Fringe) new play To The Bone (18 August-29 September).

The Ensemble will also feature the première of Elizabeth Newman’s new adaptation of Frances Hodgson Burnett’s much-loved classic story The Secret Garden (7 July-19 August) and the return of the Theatre’s acclaimed productions of Martin McCormick’s The Maggie Wall (9-28 June) and Sherlock Holmes: A Study in Lipstick, Ketchup and Blood (1-22 September), Lesley Hart’s adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle’s 1887 classic Sherlock Holmes adventure A Study in Scarlet.

For further information and tickets for the Pitlochry Festival Theatre 2023 season visit pitlochryfestivaltheatre.com

NEWS: SCOTTISH OPERA TRAVELS SCOTLAND WITH POP-UP OPERA TOUR

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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.

An ideal opportunity for anyone new to opera to try a taster of these classics, a series of colourful illustrations help guide audiences through the plot. Cleverly re-scored by Scottish Opera’s Head of Music, Derek Clark, the stories are brought to life by storyteller Allan Dunn, along with singers Jessica Leary and Andrew McTaggart, and cellist Andrew Drummond Huggan, guitarists Sasha Savaloni and Ian Watt.

 

Scottish Opera’s Director of Outreach & Education, Jane Davidson, said: ‘This year, the Pop-up Opera company are coming off their trailer and back inside schools and community halls across the country, with a blend of weekday visits to primary schools and week-end performances in public venues. Travel is still very much at the heart of our programme, introducing primary pupils to the adventures of a very small boat with a very big heart as Puffy MacPuffer sets sail on the Scottish canal network from Inverness to Crinan and from Grangemouth to Glasgow.

‘For older audiences, it’s time travel, as we journey back to the last decades of the nineteenth century with two contrasting love stories. Will it be the doomed love affair of Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin or perhaps a glass of champagne with the original Batman— better known as Die Fledermaus by Johann Strauss II. The magic of time travel makes it possible to catch both in one afternoon!’

Scottish Opera’s General Director, Alex Reedijk said: ‘Pop-up Opera is at the heart of what we do as a company, bringing opera to as many people as possible no matter their geographical location, ensuring everyone can enjoy a live musical experience.

‘During the pandemic, Pop-up Opera highlighted the importance of our national touring profile as it allowed local venues, whilst unable to open their doors, to facilitate our live performances in their carparks and open spaces. Between 2020 and 2021 we presented 246 sold out Pop-up performances to communities across Scotland, which attracted an audience of over 13,000. For many, it was the first time they had come to a live show since 2019, many braving wind and rain to attend.

‘Therefore, it is with great joy that we are back on the road as we continue our commitment to tour to communities across Scotland, with these bite-size productions offering an excellent introduction to opera, this time in schools and local venues.’

Strauss’s Die Fledermaus (The Bat) is a rip-roaring comedy filled with deceit, betrayal, and Viennese waltzes. At Prince Orlofsky’s New Year’s Eve party, Dr Falke is out for playful revenge on his friend Eisenstein, who once left him in a drunken stupor after a night out at a fancy dress ball. Left to stagger home alone the next morning, still in his bat costume, the locals laughed behind Dr Falke’s back, but now is his chance for payback. Falke plots to expose Eisenstein’s flirtatious ways to his wife Rosalinde, who is disguised as a Hungarian countess. The end result is hilarity – and lots of champagne.

 

Also on offer is Tchaikovsky’s sweeping music which perfectly captures the desperation and raw emotion of Pushkin’s much-loved masterpiece, Eugene Onegin. In this timeless story of first love and missed opportunities, the lovesick young Tatyana sends a heartfelt letter to the young, handsome neighbour who recently moved next door. However, the arrogant Eugene thoughtlessly spurns her affections. After a heart-stopping duel between friends and the passing of many years, perhaps there is a second chance for love.

Created specifically for five to eight year olds, with music & songs by Marion Christie, Puffy MacPuffer and the Crabbit Canals is a tale of the five waterways that link Scotland from the North Sea to the Atlantic. Like most families, each one is different: Caledonian – the longest; Crinan – the most beautiful; Monklands – hard working; Union – the fastest; and of course the wise old Forth & Clyde. Each one thinks they’re the best. Can an ordinary little puffer boat make them think again?

Tickets are on sale at https://www.scottishopera.org.uk/shows/pop-up-opera-2023/ from 23 March.

Dates and locations of the tour are listed below.

www.scottishopera.org.uk

You can follow Scottish Opera on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @ScottishOpera

Cast

 

Storyteller                                  Allan Dunn  

Soprano                                    Jessica Leary  

Baritone                                    Andrew McTaggart  

Cello                                         Andrew Drummond Huggan  

Guitar                                        Sasha Savaloni / Ian Watt

 

With Illustrations by Mar Hernandez, Essi Kimpimäki and Iain Piercy

 

Performance Diary

A’ the Airts Community Arts Centre, Sanquhar

Saturday  27 May, 1pm & 3pm

 

Glencairn Memorial Institute, Moniaive

Sunday 28 May, 1pm & 3pm

 

Linlithgow Burgh Halls

Saturday 3 June, 12pm & 2pm

 

David Livingstone Birthplace, Blantyre

Sunday 4 June, 12pm, 2pm & 4pm

 

Springburn Auditorium

Sunday 11 June, 12pm, 2pm & 4pm

 

An Lanntair, Stornoway

Saturday 17 June, 2pm & 4pm

 

West Church Hall, Dornoch

Saturday 24 June, 2pm & 4pm

 

Strathpeffer Pavillion

Sunday 25 June, 2pm & 4pm

 

Little Theatre Dundee

Sunday 2 July 2pm & 4pm

NEWS: Scottish Premiere of Hamilton comes to the Festival Theatre Spring 2024

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HAMILTON

ANNOUNCES SCOTTISH PREMIERE AS PART OF FIRST EVER UK TOUR

AT THE FESTIVAL THEATRE, EDINBURGH

FROM WEDNESDAY 28 FEBRUARY – SATURDAY 27 APRIL 2024

TICKETS ON GENERAL SALE 13 MARCH 2023

Producers Jeffrey Seller and Cameron Mackintosh announced that the multi award-winning HAMILTON will tour the UK for the very first time including a Scottish Premiere at the Festival Theatre, Edinburgh from Wednesday 28 February – Saturday 27 April 2024. Casting for the UK tour is currently underway.

 

Tickets go on general sale for the Festival Theatre, Edinburgh on 13 March 2023. To be in the room where it happens before anyone else become a Friend of Capital Theatres for priority booking: https://www.capitaltheatres.com/support/our-memberships and you can subscribe for updates at http://www.hamiltonmusical.com

 

The Olivier, Tony and Grammy and Pulitzer Prize-winning musical opened at the newly re-built and restored Victoria Palace Theatre in London in December 2017 where it continues to play to sell-out houses and is currently booking until 2 March 2024. The production continues to play to record breaking houses on Broadway at the Richard Rodgers Theatre, throughout North America, in Toronto, Australia and Germany with forthcoming seasons in New Zealand an International tour also planned.

 

Since the day the show opened at the Victoria Palace Theatre, London has embraced Hamilton with an enthusiasm we could never have imagined.” Hamilton Producer Jeffrey Seller said “We are excited to embark on a UK tour and share this special musical with audiences in Manchester and Edinburgh first.”

 

Cameron Mackintosh said today “Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton is indisputably the most brilliant, ground-breaking, contemporary musical of modern times. I feel extraordinarily fortunate that Lin and my friend Jeffrey Seller, the show’s original producer, have entrusted me with their wonderful musical in the UK and Ireland.  The London production opened in 2017 at the Victoria Palace, a theatre I completely rebuilt to house Hamilton, where it continues to play and has proved to be as big a success as the Broadway original. So, I am thrilled that it is time to put together a second British national touring company to bring this great show to our leading cities.  Opening first in Manchester, followed by Edinburgh – not far from where the real story of Alexander Hamilton began in Ayrshire, where his father was born in the 1700’s, before he moved to Nevis in the West Indies. Tomorrow we start casting for a brilliant new company. We look forward to welcoming audiences to “the room where it happens”.

 

Fiona Gibson CEO of Capital Theatres who runs the Festival Theatre, Edinburgh said today:

“We’re utterly thrilled to be hosting the Scottish Premiere of Hamilton at the Festival Theatre. It’s even more significant that Alexander Hamilton was of Scottish descent, so in many ways the story is coming home. To have this iconic show which has delighted audiences round the world here at the Festival Theatre and in Edinburgh where Lin-Manuel Miranda once busked at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe is really special. Today we welcome another iconic Scotsman, Cameron Mackintosh, who we’re overjoyed to be working with again. We know audiences will be as excited as we are to see this musical phenomenon.”

 

HAMILTON is the story of America then, told by America now.  Featuring a score that blends hip-hop, jazz, R&B and Broadway, HAMILTON has taken the story of American founding father Alexander Hamilton and created a revolutionary moment in theatre—a musical that has had a profound impact on culture, politics, and education.

 

With book, music, and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda, direction by Thomas Kail, choreography by Andy Blankenbuehler, and musical supervision and orchestrations by Alex Lacamoire, HAMILTON is based on Ron Chernow’s acclaimed biography.  The HAMILTON creative team previously collaborated on the Tony Award®-Winning Best Musical In the Heights.

 

HAMILTON features scenic design by David Korins, costume design by Paul Tazewell, lighting design by Howell Binkley, sound design by Nevin Steinberg, hair and wig design by Charles G. LaPointe.

 

HAMILTON is produced in the UK by Jeffrey Seller, Sander Jacobs, Jill Furman, The Public Theater and Cameron Mackintosh.

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