Entertainment

Alan Cumming Takes the Stage at Pitlochry Festival Theatre in A History of Paper

Xanthe BramwellPublished 2w ago2 min readBased on 13 sources
Alan Cumming Takes the Stage at Pitlochry Festival Theatre in A History of Paper
Photo by Christopher Macsurak / CC BY 2.0

Alan Cumming is performing on stage at Pitlochry Festival Theatre for the first time since becoming the venue's artistic director, starring in the musical A History of Paper alongside Shirley Henderson.

The production runs at the Perthshire theatre from 9 August to 13 September 2026, before transferring to Dundee Rep Theatre from 16 to 19 September. All four Dundee performances are sold out. Tickets for the Dundee dates were priced between £15 and £60, with an age recommendation of 12+ and a running time of 1 hour 10 minutes. BBC News; Dundee Rep

A History of Paper is a love story about two characters known only as He and She, told through the scraps of paper left behind in their relationship — tickets, lists, notes, the quiet debris of a shared life. Gareth Williams wrote the songs. Andrew Panton, who is Dundee Rep's artistic director, directs. Ana Inés Jabares-Pita designed the set and costumes. Gavin Whitworth also appears in the cast. WhatsOnStage

The piece began life in a different form. Oliver Emanuel conceived it as a radio play in 2016 and it was first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2017. Emanuel died in 2023. The stage version premiered at the Traverse Theatre during the 2024 Edinburgh Festival Fringe to critical acclaim, and was originally developed through Dundee Rep's Rep Stripped festival of new work. Dundee Rep; WhatsOnStage

Cumming programmed the show into his first season as Pitlochry's artistic director after seeing it at the 2024 Fringe. The 2026 revival is a joint production between Pitlochry Festival Theatre and Dundee Rep. WhatsOnStage; Playbill

Cumming is a Tony, Olivier, BAFTA and Emmy award winner. Henderson is an Olivier and BAFTA award winner. The pair previously worked together on screen, and Pitlochry Festival Theatre has been promoting their reunion on this production across its social channels. Pitlochry Festival Theatre, Facebook

Dundee Rep describes A History of Paper as an award-winning musical. The run at Pitlochry closes on 13 September, giving audiences in the Highlands a final week before the production moves east to the Dundee dates.

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