‘I don’t just put on pretty plays’: Hollywood star Alan Cumming’s plan to revive theater in the Scottish Highlands | stage

‘hOld shit! That was the immediate response of one esteemed theater critic when Pitlochry Festival Theater sent embargoed copies of Alan Cumming’s opening season plan. The man himself sits in the cavernous workshop behind the theater building, wearing a gray plaid suit. “I liked it,” he says happily.

When the Hollywood star was announced as the new artistic director of Scotland’s only major country theater last September, there was widespread shock – not least that Cumming responded to an open recruitment call – followed by feverish speculation about which of his A-list sidekicks he might lure away from London or New York to perform in Highland Perthshire.

But with the public reveal of its first season, it’s clear that Cumming has done much more than just call in favors – this is a program of imagination and creative precision, pitting big names in unexpected collaborations alongside little-known Scottish talent. “There’s always that duality of bringing in more famous people — creatives, not just actors — but also celebrating and nurturing our local talent.”

At sixty, he arranges himself with a dancing poise even though his bold side eye suggests there is still a lot of mischief still to be done. The season showcases Cumming himself to some extent as well. He writes, directs and performs in four shows, closing out the year as Henry Higgins in a revival of My Fair Lady. The season begins with another musical: the Scottish premiere of Once Upon a Time, featuring the original Broadway creative team led by director John Tiffany. Then there’s the world premiere of a new work by acclaimed playwright Martin Sherman, starring Simon Russell Beale and directed by Cumming. Elsewhere, award-winning Scottish actress Sally Reid focuses on directing, with National Theater of Scotland stars Adora Onashill and Sandy Grierson starring in her first world premiere: Douglas Maxwell’s new comedy Inexperienced.

“There has to be a reason for that,” says Cumming, who has lost none of his subtle Scottish drawl despite spending many of his final years in New York, where he lives with his wife, the painter Grant Shaffer. “I’m not just going to make pretty plays.” Plus: “Every one of these shows has a personal connection to me.”

The north star in Cumming’s creative constellation may be actor Maureen Beattie, who visited his primary school in Angus when he was eight and “changed my life”. Beatty is set to play Lear in a bold reinterpretation of Shakespeare’s Mad King, directed by Finn den Hertog, most recently known for his staging of David Ireland’s The Fifth Step. “We’ve seen a lot of Lear with boring old men, and when I talked to Maureen, I realized how wonderful and different it would be when it was a story about a woman and her daughters,” Cumming says.

The season also includes star-studded weekend festivals, literary Winter Words and Out in the Hills, a celebration of all things LGBTQ+ that brings together Armistead Maupin, Graham Norton and Evelyn Glennie in January. For Cumming, a committed LGBTQ+ rights advocate who has followed the “backlash” against trans people in recent years in the US and UK, the motivation behind programming an LGBT-specific event is simple enough: “I felt like it would be really good for trans and queer people to be mentioned in our news without a negative connotation – and that we should celebrate and remind people of the huge contribution that LGBTQ+ people have made in our lives.”

Of course, it’s not uncommon for creatives to travel for work, but he admits that Pitlochry, a thriving tourist destination known as the Gateway to the Highlands, is far off the beaten theatrical path: “Big time! It’s a commitment.”

The setting itself is breathtaking. It’s not for nothing that Perthshire is nicknamed Big Tree Country. On the day of my visit, the gardens on the banks of the Tommel River were painted in bright, hazy autumn colors by the mist rolling in from Ben Fraki, a quartz mountain looming to the north. On a direct train line from Glasgow and Edinburgh, it takes a few hours through pine-strewn hills.

“You step out of all the natural glow and into this beautiful place, with these amazing amenities, and you thrive on business,” Cumming says. “You show it here and then take it somewhere else – I want the shows to go to other parts of the world after showing them here. People really understand this model.”

“People will come for a little over two months. You can be more focused here, it’s beautiful and adventurous – like a camp,” he adds. His eyebrows bounce over the thick black frames of his glasses.

There is a sense that he enjoys acting as an ambassador for a country that he says “could be better in terms of self-confidence”. Cumming has been a long-time supporter of Scottish independence and played his part in the Yes campaign in 2014. “I love my country and I really understand the gifts it has given me. So sometimes I come back and think: ‘Come on, everyone! Things are great here.'”

He is also an advocate of manifestation, using the power of thought to shape reality. It tells the beautiful – and entirely true – story of the theatre’s founder, John Stuart, who hid a scrap of paper in a roadside post by the river on a wartime visit, vowing: “When peace is declared, I will return to this place to give thanks to God and have my festival.” On VE Day, he took back his diary and the theater was created 75 years ago this year. “When I started, I set my goals, so I feel like this is something I share with him,” Cumming says.

Whatever your opinion of mysticism and the fulfillment of prophecies, this is an approach in keeping with the surroundings – Highland Perthshire is one of the most mystical regions of Scotland, steeped in folklore and ancient history. On my trip to Glasgow, I detoured to the nearby Dunvalandy Stone, a rare figurative carved stone depicting a human head clasped by a fish-tailed monster.

But what is also abundantly clear is Cumming’s clear and frank determination to get this work done. His tenure comes at a time of rising confidence in Scottish theatre, with new leadership at Tron in Glasgow and the Lyceum in Edinburgh, alongside the long-awaited refurbishment of Glasgow’s Citizens Theatre. Cumming has attended several dinners with other artistic directors, drawing on a wealth of experience around the table. “I’m completely new to the work and behind-the-scenes machinations of running a charity. I might ask: ‘Is this normal?’

Cynics may wonder how a man with so many strings on his bow, who still divides his time between New York and another base near Inverness, can get involved in the day-to-day work of running an arts venue. “It was tough,” Cumming admits. “I have mostly worked remotely this year.” He praises the team around him: “It’s a lot more work than I thought it would be, in the finer details and also dealing with so many characters.”

He points out that this works both ways. “When I arrived, I didn’t know them, but they thought they knew me. When you’re famous, you have to…” “I imagine they thought I was going to be like Godzilla, running through Pitlochry and stepping on things.”

Pitlochry is a space familiar with innovation – where former director Elizabeth Newman has built her artistic credibility through new writing, creative performances and collaborations with other production houses. “I’ve been conscious of not being completely contrarian and changing everything, which is a big part of what people have recently associated with Bitlochry,” he says, nodding to the strong musical element of his season.

But the famous reference system – the only one remaining in Scotland – is gone. “It wasn’t financially viable, and the prerequisite to taking on this job was to be able to ask people to come in for a shorter period,” Cumming says. Cumming certainly keeps a close eye on the theatre’s financial health, forging partnerships with nearby hotels, and even choosing to forego his salary. Maybe he can afford it. In addition to his work as an actor on stage and screen, Cumming presents the American version of The Traitors and owns a bar, Club Cumming, in New York City. He hopes the money saved will be used to repair the amphitheater.

Since his appointment, Cumming has repeatedly spoken of his desire for the theater building to be a place for the local community as well as paying audiences. “I want to be known as an international theater destination for audiences and artists, and the community should keep up with that because they are part of it.”

Earlier in the day, he visited the weekly drawing club, which gathers in the theatre’s open-plan café area. “Oh, I’m getting older,” I said. And there’s more of you since the last time I was here!” It makes the building feel lively, especially when we’re not doing shows. I actually think the experience you have in this building is just as important as what we put on our stands.

Earlier this year, at the conclusion of the Winter Words Festival, he DJed at a huge party, inviting the entire city to attend. “And they came!” He says pleasantly. “It was a magical night.”