This inspiring Scottish theatre is like nowhere else in Britain
In praise of Pitlochry
Dougie Cameron, the Director of Finance and Operation, explains the business strategy behind the theatre. 'Our revenue comes from three broad funds. The first is selling tickets and food, and the second involves taking Pitlochry to the world so that our theatre work has a life beyond. An example of this is our co-productions, whereby we share the costs with another theatre; an example is the current show, Grease, which we co-produced with the Blackpool Grand. And the third revenue stream is philanthropy, so if our shows do well, we can attract the attention of private backers.'
The finance boss adds: 'It's so much about programming, getting the right shows onto the stage, then working hard to sell them to our audience. And then when we do open the shows, there is a multiplier that come off a ticket, such as the revenue we take from wine and dinner.'
John Stewart at the Opening Ceremony in 1951 (Image: Colin Liddell)
Kenneth Ireland, Patricia Heneghan, John Stewart in 1957 (Image: Colin Liddell) Cameron isn't suggesting that finding funding for a mid-sized rural location theatre with annual overheads of £3m, is a walk in the heather. 'It's a world of increasing costs, such as labour and utilities. And we are always trying to prepare for the unforeseen.'
Certainly, no one could have anticipated Covid. 'But what we have here is a fantastic team of individuals who are so committed to the success of Pitlochry, with great imagination and ideas, who will take us forward.'
Yet, there's another reason why Pitlochry Festival Theatre has not only survived but thrived over the years. And it can only be understood by turning back the pages of the story. Way back in 1941, theatre fanatic John Stewart established Glasgow's Park Theatre but three years later found himself visiting Pitlochry, where he fell in love with this area and conceived the utterly daft, romantic idea he would return one day and build a theatre close to the beautiful River Tummel.
In an early day example of manifesting, Stewart wrote a note to himself, and stuffed it inside a signpost, declaring; 'When peace is declared I shall return to this spot to give thanks to God and to establish my Festival'. On VE day, Stewart recovered that same slip of paper, offered a silent prayer of thanks, and vowed again to fulfil his promise.
Yet, while post-war Britain was alive with hope it was starved of building materials. As a result, Pitlochry Festival Theatre opened in 1951 with the British premiere of Maxwell Anderson's Mary of Scotland, with Joss Ackland as Darnley, staged in a giant tent. But it was an immediate success says Colin Liddell MBE, the theatre's honorary president, with more than 35,000 seats sold that season. 'The tent was really wide, and with 498 seats in only 12 rows it meant the actors had to cover an awful lot of stage,' says the former trustee, smiling.
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Part of that success was the pre-Beeching railway service. 'It was better than now. And you could see a play and get back to Glasgow or Edinburgh that same night."
But the biggest factor in the tickets sold story was the audiences who loved to flock to Pitlochry. They appreciated the romance of the endeavour, the love shown to the theatre concept. And even when the tent fell apart, literally, after heavy winds ripped at its sides, they backed the creation of a new cladded frontage. And with trust status secured, a new Pitlochry Festival Theatre was created in 1981, on the banks of the Tummel, at Port-na-craig.
Sadly, John Stewart didn't live to see the present day edifice, but his legacy has been felt in hugely successful productions which evolved in style over the years, from Alan Ayckbourn plays to works by Agatha Christie, with today's emphasis on populist shows and musicals such as Sunshine on Leith and the Sound of Music.
Yet, both Dougie Cameron and Colin Liddell are entirely in agreement that the success of theatre owes a great deal to something which is not real in the literal sense. Magic. Audiences are drawn to the allure, the illusion, the natural artistry of the world surrounding Pitlochry's theatre.
'Logically, it shouldn't work, but we make it work,' says Cameron. Liddell adds, smiling. 'The metaphysical side is the big thing we do. Pitlochry can sleep 10,000 people and audiences will come for three nights in the summer, in little groups, and come back and see another three plays (thanks to its rep theatre staging programme) in September.'
The theatre today (Image: free) The old theatre entrance (Image: Colin Liddell) He adds of the destination tourism factor: 'We have a theatre surrounded by mountains and water, yet accessible to most corners of Scotland. For example, when we did Whisky Galore in 2009, only three post code districts in the whole of the UK did not send at least one person to that musical.'
It was the 'magic' of Pitlochry which resulted in international star Alan Cumming becoming the theatre's new Artistic Director. 'Alan shoved in an application like anyone else,' reveals Liddell. 'He was so keen to come here, seriously bitten by the enthusiasm bug when he arrived here with a TV crew to make a documentary. And you can't match Alan's profile, which brings with it a supercharged effect.'
John Stewart would be delighted with his legacy. His theatre now produces more plays each year than any other in the UK. He would be rapturous to know the Studio Theatre was added in 2023. But at least he did have the chance to enjoy the widest of smiles on reading the comments in The Lady magazine in 1952, words which have spanned the decades and underlined audiences' true romance with his theatre. 'Nothing I've seen anywhere is like Pitlochry,' the writer declared. 'The incredible has come to be.'
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