Sir Ian McKellen, Graham Norton and Armistead Maupin are heading to Pitlochry for a mid-winter “queer festival for everyone” which will herald the long-awaited launch of the Alan Cumming era at the town’s historic theatre.
The Tony and Oliver award-winning actor, the much-loved chat show host and the Tales of the City writer will take to the stage at Pitlochry Festival Theatre in January for what its new artistic director is billing as “a weekend of queer joy.”
The Perthshire-born Broadway and Hollywood star - who believes the “eyes of the world” are now on Pitlochry thanks to his appointment by the theatre - has lifted the lid on plans for a three-day celebration planned to become an annual fixture under his tenure at the theatre, which dates back to 1951.
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Leading Scottish cultural figures, including percussionist Evelyn Glennie, authors Val McDermid and Louise Welsh, playwright Jo Clifford and former Scots Makar Jackie Kay will all be appearing in the festival, which playwright and performance-maker Lewis Hetherington has led the programming of.
Scottish footballer Zander Murray, “Kilted Yoga” star Finlay Wilson, “Hebridean Baker” Coinneach MacLeod and former SNP Mhairi Black will also take part in special events at Out in the Hills, which is being described as an event which "invites everyone to find new ways to look at the world and each other".
Cumming, who has brought in playwright Lewis Hetherington as festival programme, said the event would offer people the chance to "show solidarity and support" to queer and trans people who are "under threat".
He has revealed plans for the festival ahead of a much-anticipated announcement, expected in the next few weeks, of his first full season of Pitlochry stage productions, which will open in May.
In an interview with The Herald, Perthshire-born Cumming said he wanted to do things that were “a bit risky” in his new role and admitted the announcement of Out in the Hills was his “drop the mic” moment.
Cumming said Out in the Hills had not been part of his original pitch for the Piltochry job, but explained said he had wanted to create the festival to “stand up” for queer and trans people after seeing their rights threatened in the UK and America.
The Emmy and Tony award-winner spoke of his “despair” at the treatment of trans people in Scotland, including the “backlash” over gender recognition legislation at Holyrood, which was passed nearly three years, but attracted growing opposition from MSPs before being blocked by the UK Government.
Due to be staged from January 16-18, Out in the Hills - which is billed as “a queer festival for everyone” - will encompass theatre, music, film, spoken word, sport, history and politics.
McKellen will give the first ever public performance of Equinox, a new play by Laurie Stride about a character said to be “wrestling with his past, conflicted desires, and visions of alternative realities.”
Cumming and Norton will stage their own "once-in-a-lifetime" chat show, while Pitlochry's artistic director will also be among the six-strong cast performing in a new adaptation of the Noel Coward story Me and My Girls.
Artist and author Juano Diaz will be accompanied by Evelyn Glennie as he reads from his powerful memoir Slum Boy.
In-conversation events at the festival include Jackie Kay and Armistead Maupin, "Hebridean Baker" Coinneach MacLeod with Radio Scotland presenter Tony Kearney, and broadcaster and DJ Gemma Cairney with Mhairi Black.
Cumming, who admitted that he found it “weird” that Pitlochy’s main season of shows did not start until May, said he had deliberately programmed Out in the Hills for mid-January, traditionally one of the quietest times of the year in Pitlochry, as part of his efforts to “shake things up” at the theatre.
He told The Herald: “I’m really glad that this is the first thing that I’m announcing for next year. I wanted to drop the mic and say: ‘Here we go, people’.
“I wanted to do a separate announcement about Out of the Hills before the main season launch. That’s going to bit ‘kapow’ as well and I didn’t want to get lost in that.
“My pitch was to infuse Pitlochry Festival Theatre with new ideas and really broaden its scope.
“I have come in and I have jingled things up. I have asked questions. I ask ‘why?’ all the time and ask ‘why not?’ a lot. I have a lot of ideas. I have been told I have too many of them.
“I have made some mistakes and it tough, but I feel that my energy and spirit is now starting to be manifested in what the theatre is doing. That’s really exciting.”
Photography exhibitions, stand-up comedy and drop-in art workshops will feature in Out in the Hills, while the theatre’s foyer will play host to a ceilidh dance and a dance music party on the Friday and Saturday nights respectively.
He added: “We want people to come to Out in the Hills to see the big names, and the people they know and love, but also maybe see things that they don’t know so much and support them too.
“Out in the Hills is quite a loose umbrella so that we bring in different things as the years go by. We wanted to make sure everyone is represented. We are also looking for people to tell us what they would like us to do in future.
“One of the things I’m trying to work on at the theatre is that everyone has a voice and everyone feels involved. I think it’s important for people to know that they are listened to.
“I just felt that, with the way that things are going for queer people, and especially trans people, it would be great to do something that is a real celebration, so that we hear about them in a positive way and look at the positive contributions they have made to our lives. I want us to stand up for them and celebrate them.
“Both in America and the UK, it is clear that we are at a time in history when people are coming for us again. Queer people and trans people are being used as scapegoats and a smokescreen, much in the same way as refugees are, to blame for things that are wrong in society.
“I find it fascinating and sad that something that started out in the Scottish Parliament as a very noble thing has actually had such a huge backlash against trans people in this country.
“It makes me despair that people have celebrated the fact that people are being legislated against in Britain and the UK. I just can’t understand it. I think a lot of it is to do with people being afraid, fearful and or ignorant of the whole picture.”
Cumming suggested he wanted Pitlochry Festival Theatre - which secured a new £2.35m Scottish Government funding deal in January for the next three years - to offer an alternative to “middle of the road” programming in other subsidised theatres.
He told The Herald: “I feel that, as a theatre charity, we have a duty to support new writers and new ideas and be inventive.
“I am trying to do things that are a bit risky and take audiences on a bit of a journey.
“Sometimes we will do things that will lose money but we will do other things that make more money that subsidises those other things.
“I don’t want to bankrupt the theatre. I want it to be profitable. But I don’t want that to be the primary edict. I think that’s happened too much in subsidised theatres.
“They end up doing middle-of-the-road commercial stuff all of the time. Just because things sell out doesn’t mean they are the best things that you could be doing.”
Cumming said he had been attracted to the job by the theatre’s mantra - set out when the artistic director’s job was advertised last summer - of wanting to “share Pitlochry with the world and the world with Pitlochry”.
He told The Herald: “The announcement of my appointment was in the Hollywood Reporter.
“Millions more people have found out about Pitlochry over the last year.
“Suddenly this little theatre, which was doing great, has the eyes of the world on it. I think we should really use that opportunity. What’s really exciting is that there is almost a clean slate here.
“We’re really pushing the idea of ‘Destination Pitlochry.’ There are loads of gorgeous hotels in Pitlochry and lots of things to do.
“We want people to come to Pitlochry, leave the car in the car park and make a real weekend of it here.
“I’ve reached out to lots of hotels and local business. I really want to the theatre to be more involved in the local community.
“I feel there was a slight schism between the theatre and town in the past. I’ve really tried to mend that and reach out. I’ve had nothing but positivity from the local community.”
Lewis Hetherington said: "Putting together the programme for Out in the Hills has been an absolute joy. I’ve loved working with Alan and the rest of the Pitlochry team to piece together this line up of inspiring, thought provoking and beautiful events.
"It feels more important than ever for us to celebrate difference, to find harmony together in all the various songs we sing. I’m so proud that this festival offers something for everyone. Come with an open heart and mind and you’ll leave with a richer understanding of the world around you and a deeper sense of empathy for your fellow humans."
