Perthshire theatre joins Dundee Rep for award-winner

Cumming and Henderson ‘reunited’

Pitlochry Festival Theatre and Dundee Rep are to team up for a musical which will reunite Alan Cumming and Shirley Henderson 40 years on from a formative TV appearance.

Whilst the award-winning musical, A History of Paper, will be the first time the pair have appeared together on the stage, they starred opposite one another in an STV fantasy drama set in Inverclyde, four decades ago.

Shadow of the Stone, a 6-part series, showcased the actors in early roles (1987) and they have also appeared together recently in Brian Cox’s film Directorial debut, Glenrothan.

However, they will star together on the stage for the first time this Autumn, at both Pitlochry and Dundee, in a touching Scottish musical, A History of Paper, written originally as a radio play by the late Oliver Emanuel.

Credit: Emil Cohen

Tale of love and grief

Premiered at the 2024 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the play – adapted for the stage by Emanuel and Gareth Williams- tracks the evolution of a relationship through fragments of paper.

Tickets, receipts, letters and menus unravel a moving narrative of love and grief, directed by acclaimed Dundee Rep Artistic Director, Andrew Panton.

“I fell in love with this musical when I saw it at the Traverse as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2024. I couldn’t stop thinking about it and felt so connected to its narrative,” said Cumming, enjoying his maiden season as Artistic Director at the ‘Theatre in the hills’.

“Andrew (Panton) and I asked Shirley Henderson to come and sing through some of the songs with me, and suddenly it became a deep and rich and heart-wrenching memory play, as two older people looked back at their lives together.”

Tender and fun

Shirley Henderson, whose films include the Harry Potter franchise and Bridget Jones, said: “I feel very happy and a little nervous and have this little bubble of excitement in my tummy to be jumping in at the deep end with the extraordinary Alan Cumming as we try to bring “A History of Paper” to life.

“It is such a beautiful play full of tenderness and fun and love and sweet music written by Oliver Emanuel and Gareth Williams. With this gorgeous writing, sweet music, my friend Alan and the very brilliant Andrew Panton who will direct the play meant I could only say yes when they asked me to become involved.”

A History of Paper will run at Pitlochry Festival Theatre from 9th August to 12th September and 16th September to 19th September.

For tickets and information, visit www.pitlochryfestivaltheatre.com