Pitlochry adds Ayckbourn, 9 to 5 and star-led Supernova to 2027 season
Pitlochry Festival Theatre has added four productions to its 2027 season, the second programmed by artistic director Alan Cumming.
The Perthshire theatre said the season is produced in association with Sonia Friedman Productions, a major commercial producing company. The new titles were reported by WhatsOnStage on 15 October 2026.
Alan Ayckbourn's Absent Friends will open the Main House programme. It runs from 12 March to 3 April. Owen Horsley directs, with design by Ryan Dawson Laight.
Ayckbourn's 1974 comedy follows a group of friends gathering after a death. It is a regular on British stages, with a mix of awkward laughs and sharp edges. This staging starts the spring in Pitlochry's larger auditorium.
Dolly Parton's musical 9 to 5 takes the Main House from 1 to 29 May. It features music and lyrics by Parton and a book by Patricia Resnick. Cora Bissett directs.
The musical grew out of the 1980 film about office life. Its songs include the well-known title number. Bissett is a Scottish director and musician known for new work and music-led shows.
The Studio, the theatre's smaller space, will host two world premieres. That means these will be the first productions anywhere.
Love Songs for Monsters by Hannah Lavery runs from 28 May to 19 June. Amber Sinclair-Case directs. Jack Vettriano Can't Paint! by Eden McIntyre follows from 16 July to 7 August.
The summer's headline is Supernova in the Main House, from 24 July to 21 August. Cumming will star opposite Ewan McGregor. Harry Macqueen has adapted his own 2020 film for the stage, with John Tiffany directing. The run is already sold out.
Tiffany is known for large-scale staging, including the Harry Potter play and Black Watch. Macqueen wrote and directed the original film about a couple facing illness. Casting two Scottish screen stars together gives Pitlochry a national talking point.
Booking opens in stages. Priority booking for patrons and Festival Circle members starts on 15 October. Festival Friends can book from 22 October, with general sale from 29 October.
Cumming joined Pitlochry as artistic director in January 2025, according to Pitlochry Festival Theatre. His first programmed season was 2026. The 2027 programme extends that work across both the Main House and Studio.
For audiences, this means a blend of familiar titles and new writing. A classic Ayckbourn, a Parton musical, two premieres and a sold-out star vehicle sit side by side. That balance is now central to Pitlochry's offer.
