Latest news with #PitlochryFestivalTheatre
The Herald Scotland
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
'Old habits die hard': Irvine Welsh's Porno comes home
Having begun its life on the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2022 five years after Danny Boyle filmed Welsh's book as T2, Carswell's adaptation became a West End hit. Bringing it all back home for what probably won't be the last time is living testament to the ongoing power of Welsh's ever expanding back catalogue. The handy translations of Leith patois projected onto the back wall of the stage lest a passing west coaster stumble into the building acts as a cheeky curtain raiser to the uneasy reunion between Renton, Sick Boy, Spud and Begbie, the fab four at the heart of Welsh's original story. Fifteen years after ex junkie Renton did a runner to Amsterdam with the gang's money, he makes a prodigal's return home to tend to his sick mother. This surprise comeback also gives him the chance to hook up with his former drug buddies, and possibly make amends for his betrayal. With Sick Boy now in charge of a spit and sawdust old school Leith boozer, Spud attempting to write a history of his 'hood before gentrification wipes it out, and Begbie just out of prison, old alliances are rekindled as well as old tensions. The quartet may be older, but probably aren't wiser, as Sick Boy co-opts his pub function room to make amateur porn. Enter Lizzie, wannabe actress and local copper's daughter who joins the fun before history starts repeating itself as Renton gets itchy feet. This is presented largely through a series of bite-size monologues that get to the inner workings of each character. In performance this becomes a set of baroque routines that come on like a form of potty-mouthed spoken-word stand-up, with expletive laden punchlines aplenty. While Chris Gavin's Begbie is a study in hard man machismo, Kevin Murphy as Spud and Jenni Duffy as Lizzie both reveal a fragility hidden by either the effects of drugs in Spud's case or Lizzie's sassy bravado. When there is conversation, it explores the fragile ties that binds the group. The duologues between Liam Harkins as Renton and James McAnerney especially see the now middle-aged coulda-been contenders off-loading the baggage of shared history. Read more: If only we could bring Tommy Cooper, Bob Monkhouse and Eric Morecambe back to life True crime tale of Glasgow poisoning turned into city play 'Period parody run riot' The 39 Steps Pitlochry Festival Theatre If Harkins' Renton is an everyman figure who hasn't quite cleaned up his act, McAnerney's Sick Boy is a more mercurial figure, always looking for that ever-elusive money making scheme that will see him make it big. Lizzie's interplay with her dad Knox, played by Tom Carter, is a similar illustration of conflicting loyalties. Welsh's world is brought to life by Carswell and director Jonty Cameron with a heightened irreverence closer to restoration comedy than gritty realism. This is more than Carry on Trainspotting, mind. As old habits die hard, it becomes a story about working class aspiration and getting away with whatever you can in order to survive. The next chapter awaits.
Scotsman
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Theatre reviews: The 39 Steps
Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter, get the latest news and reviews from our specialist arts writers Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... The 39 Steps, Pitlochry Festival Theatre ★★★ The Last Laugh, Theatre Royal ★★★★ In a world where credible futures seem in increasingly short supply, it sometimes seems as if cultural nostalgia is becoming our only jam. Rock music survivors from the 20th century stage ever-larger stadium tours, tribute musicals whisk us back to the 1960s or 70s; and here, in Pitlochry and Glasgow this week, are two stage shows which have their own special relationship with our cultural past. Alexander Service and Chris Coxon in The 39 Steps | Tommy Ga-Ken Wan Patrick Barlow's brisk two-hour stage adaptation of The 39 Steps - first seen in London two decades ago - is probably best understood not as a version of John Buchan's 1915 novel, but as an affectionate send-up of Alfred Hitchcock's hugely successful 1935 film, designed to extract maximum laughs from the absurdities of extreme fringe theatre, as a cast of only four try to tell a story featuring at least 20 characters, with much help from bad hats, and worse facial hair. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad To judge by Barlow's programme note for this year's Pitlochry production, he also intended his adaptation to add a little heart to what began as a brusquely masculine tale of Richard Hannay, a British imperial adventurer at a loose end, who finds himself in a desperate race to expose a deadly network of foreign spies before they catch up with him. And in Ben Occhipinti's Pitlochry production of Barlow's version - which follows and surpasses Hitchcock in introducing some female love interest to the story - Alexander Service as a handsome Hannay, and Blythe Jandoo in stylish Thirties form as all the women with whom he falls in love, both bring a real touch of romance to their performances. The problem, though, is that almost all other aspects of the plot are reduced to such Monty Python-style absurdity - as supporting actors Chris Coxon and Stephanie Cremona conjure up a bewildering series of dastardly villains and spoof Scottish peasants - that it becomes very difficult to attach any real meaning to the story. Liz Cooke's set is charming, with its little train circling the front of the stage to the upbeat strains of Vivian Ellis's Coronation Scot. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad To my eyes, though, most of the comedy looks laboured and un-funny, in a post-1980s fringe theatre style that has had its day; and despite the best efforts of the actors - who received a well-deserved cheer from the audience as they took their bows - the show seems to me to lack momentum, and to be both less meaningful, and less seriously funny, than Barlow originally intended. The Last Laugh | Contributed There's a richer and more direct vein of comedy, by contrast, in writer and director Paul Henry's 80-minute play The Last Laugh, now on a UK-wide tour after its 2024 Edinburgh Fringe success. The show features a dressing-room conversation among three of Britain's most revered 20th century comedy stars; the great natural comedians Tommy Cooper and Eric Morecambe, and Bob Monkhouse, comedian and game-show host, who spent most of his life studying the structure of comedy. The Last Laugh follows other fine plays about comedy - notably Tom McGrath's Laurel & Hardy - in dealing with the strange, poignant relationship between comedy and death. Both Cooper and Morecambe died in mid-career, in the spring of 1984; and Hendy uses this fact to place all three stars in what turns out to be a dressing room on the edge of eternity. For most of its length, though, the show is a funny and fascinating exploration of comedy itself, as delivered by a generation of absolute masters. Damian Williams as Tommy, Bob Golding as Eric, and Simon Cartwright as Bob all make a brilliant job of evoking the special style and comic energy of the men they play; and they also bring an immense quiet skill to their handling of the play's huge range of emotional registers, from the daftly hilarious to the poignant, and finally to the tragic. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad
The Herald Scotland
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
'Period parody run riot' The 39 Steps Pitlochry Festival Theatre
Pitlochry Festival Theatre Neil Cooper Four stars John Buchan probably couldn't have predicted what liberties maverick film director Alfred Hitchcock would take with his 1915 novel, in which dashing Richard Hannay takes flight to Scotland after a night at the theatre throws him into a world of intrigue and adventure. Hitchcock too might have raised an eyebrow regarding how writer Patrick Garland transformed his 1935 big screen adaptation into a pocket sized stage pastiche requiring just four actors to do the business. Garland's irreverent hybrid of Hitchcock and Buchan's creations has run and run for two decades now and counting. Ben Occhipinti's new Pitlochry Festival Theatre production breathes fresh life into a show that has tremendous fun with the existing material while managing to put a personal stamp on things. This is led by Alexander Service as Hannay, who flaunts his character's matinee idol looks with a nice line in self parody as he flees from his bachelor pad that has just acquired a murdered German fugitive as part of the furniture. READ MORE: The panoply of skullduggery and accidental romance that follows sees Blythe Jandoo too play assorted leading ladies with similar lashings of style, charm and comic strip satire aplenty. This is especially the case with Pamela, who ends up in an involuntary clinch with Hannay on the train to Scotland in order to help throw the cops off the scent, then later spends the night with him in handcuffs. Chris Coxon and Stephanie Cremona keep things rattling along as the show's self styled Clowns, changing hats, coats and accents in rapid fire succession as assorted pulp fiction spies, Highland hoteliers and the Mr Memory vaudeville turn that sets things in motion. All this takes place on Liz Cooke's sliding doors set featuring a mini revolve and a track that allows miniature trains and Highland sheep alike to speed their way home. The end result sees a Freudian dream team forever in motion in a period parody run riot.
The Herald Scotland
13-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
This inspiring Scottish theatre is like nowhere else in Britain
And when you consider that the population of Pitlochry is just 2,500, and features an older demographic, well, it's almost unimaginable to believe that the theatre's till receipts boasted £1.5m last year – and looks to expand upon that number this season. In praise of Pitlochry Dougie Cameron, the Director of Finance and Operation, explains the business strategy behind the theatre. 'Our revenue comes from three broad funds. The first is selling tickets and food, and the second involves taking Pitlochry to the world so that our theatre work has a life beyond. An example of this is our co-productions, whereby we share the costs with another theatre; an example is the current show, Grease, which we co-produced with the Blackpool Grand. And the third revenue stream is philanthropy, so if our shows do well, we can attract the attention of private backers.' The finance boss adds: 'It's so much about programming, getting the right shows onto the stage, then working hard to sell them to our audience. And then when we do open the shows, there is a multiplier that come off a ticket, such as the revenue we take from wine and dinner.' John Stewart at the Opening Ceremony in 1951 (Image: Colin Liddell) Kenneth Ireland, Patricia Heneghan, John Stewart in 1957 (Image: Colin Liddell) Cameron isn't suggesting that finding funding for a mid-sized rural location theatre with annual overheads of £3m, is a walk in the heather. 'It's a world of increasing costs, such as labour and utilities. And we are always trying to prepare for the unforeseen.' Certainly, no one could have anticipated Covid. 'But what we have here is a fantastic team of individuals who are so committed to the success of Pitlochry, with great imagination and ideas, who will take us forward.' Yet, there's another reason why Pitlochry Festival Theatre has not only survived but thrived over the years. And it can only be understood by turning back the pages of the story. Way back in 1941, theatre fanatic John Stewart established Glasgow's Park Theatre but three years later found himself visiting Pitlochry, where he fell in love with this area and conceived the utterly daft, romantic idea he would return one day and build a theatre close to the beautiful River Tummel. In an early day example of manifesting, Stewart wrote a note to himself, and stuffed it inside a signpost, declaring; 'When peace is declared I shall return to this spot to give thanks to God and to establish my Festival'. On VE day, Stewart recovered that same slip of paper, offered a silent prayer of thanks, and vowed again to fulfil his promise. Yet, while post-war Britain was alive with hope it was starved of building materials. As a result, Pitlochry Festival Theatre opened in 1951 with the British premiere of Maxwell Anderson's Mary of Scotland, with Joss Ackland as Darnley, staged in a giant tent. But it was an immediate success says Colin Liddell MBE, the theatre's honorary president, with more than 35,000 seats sold that season. 'The tent was really wide, and with 498 seats in only 12 rows it meant the actors had to cover an awful lot of stage,' says the former trustee, smiling. Read more Part of that success was the pre-Beeching railway service. 'It was better than now. And you could see a play and get back to Glasgow or Edinburgh that same night." But the biggest factor in the tickets sold story was the audiences who loved to flock to Pitlochry. They appreciated the romance of the endeavour, the love shown to the theatre concept. And even when the tent fell apart, literally, after heavy winds ripped at its sides, they backed the creation of a new cladded frontage. And with trust status secured, a new Pitlochry Festival Theatre was created in 1981, on the banks of the Tummel, at Port-na-craig. Sadly, John Stewart didn't live to see the present day edifice, but his legacy has been felt in hugely successful productions which evolved in style over the years, from Alan Ayckbourn plays to works by Agatha Christie, with today's emphasis on populist shows and musicals such as Sunshine on Leith and the Sound of Music. Yet, both Dougie Cameron and Colin Liddell are entirely in agreement that the success of theatre owes a great deal to something which is not real in the literal sense. Magic. Audiences are drawn to the allure, the illusion, the natural artistry of the world surrounding Pitlochry's theatre. 'Logically, it shouldn't work, but we make it work,' says Cameron. Liddell adds, smiling. 'The metaphysical side is the big thing we do. Pitlochry can sleep 10,000 people and audiences will come for three nights in the summer, in little groups, and come back and see another three plays (thanks to its rep theatre staging programme) in September.' The theatre today (Image: free) The old theatre entrance (Image: Colin Liddell) He adds of the destination tourism factor: 'We have a theatre surrounded by mountains and water, yet accessible to most corners of Scotland. For example, when we did Whisky Galore in 2009, only three post code districts in the whole of the UK did not send at least one person to that musical.' It was the 'magic' of Pitlochry which resulted in international star Alan Cumming becoming the theatre's new Artistic Director. 'Alan shoved in an application like anyone else,' reveals Liddell. 'He was so keen to come here, seriously bitten by the enthusiasm bug when he arrived here with a TV crew to make a documentary. And you can't match Alan's profile, which brings with it a supercharged effect.' John Stewart would be delighted with his legacy. His theatre now produces more plays each year than any other in the UK. He would be rapturous to know the Studio Theatre was added in 2023. But at least he did have the chance to enjoy the widest of smiles on reading the comments in The Lady magazine in 1952, words which have spanned the decades and underlined audiences' true romance with his theatre. 'Nothing I've seen anywhere is like Pitlochry,' the writer declared. 'The incredible has come to be.'
The National
13-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The National
Great Gatsby at Pitlochry Theatre review – Uneven art-deco spectacle
Pitlochry Festival Theatre ELIZABETH Newman (who is now leading Sheffield Theatres) recently relinquished her position as artistic director of Pitlochry Festival Theatre (PFT) following a very successful six-year stint at the 'theatre in the hills'. However, she bequeaths to her successor – the acclaimed Scottish actor Alan Cumming – a final summer programme that includes her own stage adaptation of F Scott Fitzgerald's iconic novel The Great Gatsby. Even before we get to Newman's airy, fast-paced script, designer Jen McGinley's set – which is a maximalist, Art Deco construction – has us very firmly in the United States during the "roaring twenties'. The design – which reminds us that PFT boasts the finest carpenters since Jesus – summons up the grandeur of the conspicuously expensive home of the titular man of wealth, but it also serves a number of practical purposes. The most important of these is the platform above the stage, which the performers access by way of sweeping staircases on the left and right of the stage. This platform hosts a band made up of actor-musicians and actor-singers who play short tasters of music and songs that evoke the optimism and decadence (for the middle and upper classes, at least) of the 1920s in America. First published in 1925, Fitzgerald's tale is one in which the complex, nouveau riche Jay Gatsby is an archetypal square peg in the round hole of the Ivy League-educated upper classes. As such – as well as owing a discernible debt to Tolstoy – the novel seems almost to prophecy the devastating Wall Street Crash of 1929. In recent times, PFT has become the undisputed leader where Scottish musical theatre is concerned. It should come as little surprise, then, that Newman and director Sarah Brigham have adapted this much-loved prose fiction as a play with songs. There is a wealth of musical and singing talent in this cast (which, typically of PFT, is drawn from the theatre's summer season ensemble). Fiona Wood – who plays Daisy Buchanan (the long-suffering wife of Tyler Collins's appropriately obnoxious, snobbish bourgeois Tom Buchanan) – is especially impressive when she takes to the microphone as a cabaret chanteuse. Although the acting and singing is somewhat uneven at times, the production boasts a number of strong performances. For instance, David Rankine (in the role of the inquisitive narrator Nick Carraway) does a fine job of guiding the audience on its journey of discovery. I have always agreed with the American theatrologist Richard Schechner about the need for theatre productions to employ 'blind casting', or, at the very least, casting that goes against identity-driven assumptions about character. There is no reason why we should not have a female Hamlet or, as we have here, a Black Gatsby. However – given the accuracy of Fitzgerald's picture of US society in the early to mid-1920s – it takes considerable suspension of disbelief to imagine the east coast upper classes granting any level of acceptance to a suddenly wealthy African-American. That said, Oraine Johnson gives an energetic-yet-vulnerable performance that chimes nicely with his famous character. Various dates until September 25:
