logo
Alan Cumming and other original cast from The High Life reuniting for musical

Alan Cumming and other original cast from The High Life reuniting for musical

The production will tour Scotland in spring 2026, almost three decades after the series was screened.
All four original cast members – Alan Cumming, Forbes Masson, Siobhan Redmond and Patrick Ryecart will feature in the show.
The High Life, first commissioned and broadcast by the BBC, centred on the crew of the fictional Air Scotia airline.
The original series can be watched on the BBC iPlayer (BBC/PA)
In the musical Air Scotia has been sold and the crew are fighting for their future.
The TV series was created by Cumming and Masson who have reunited to create the musical, joined in their creative collaboration by writer, performer and panto-maker Johnny McKnight and the artistic director of Dundee Rep, Andrew Panton.
Alan Cumming and Forbes Masson said: 'Never say never! We are both beyond excited to be donning those nylon slacks and crimpelene blazers and connecting with our inner trolly dollies after all these years.
'Returning to these characters alongside the genius that is Johnny McKnight has been a joyful experience and we can't wait to share what madness we've come up with around Scotland.'
The High Life was first introduced to TV audiences in an initial pilot in 1994 and then in a series of six episodes which were broadcast in early 1995. The series is currently available to watch on BBC iPlayer.
Johnny McKnight said: 'I am absolutely thrilled to join the Air Scotia cabin crew. I grew up watching The High Life, wishing that one day I could get to fly 30 thousand feet with Alan, Forbes, Siobhan and Patrick.
'I never believed that a reunion show would happen, let alone that I would get to be part of the team working on it.
'The bags are packed, the tena-man pants on, and I am ready for check in.
'Fasten your seatbelts and get ready for the flight of a lifetime.'
I feel sure our new stage musical will appeal to both fans of the TV show and folks new to The High Life Andrew Panton, Dundee Rep artistic director
The new show is being presented by National Theatre of Scotland and Dundee Rep Theatre in association with Aberdeen Performing Arts and Capital Theatres.
It will tour to Dundee Rep Theatre, His Majesty's Theatre, Aberdeen, Festival Theatre, Edinburgh and King's Theatre, Glasgow in Spring 2026.
Andrew Panton said: 'Having been a High Life fan right from take-off in 1994, it's been a total joy to work with this amazing team of pure talent.
'Our development time together has been a riot of creative energy, hilarity and brilliant music and songs and I feel sure our new stage musical will appeal to both fans of the TV show and folks new to The High Life.
'I'm thrilled that we're creating the show at Dundee Rep Theatre before it jets off to entertain audiences across Scotland.'

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

DJ keeps injured woman's passion for spin alive
DJ keeps injured woman's passion for spin alive

BBC News

time29 minutes ago

  • BBC News

DJ keeps injured woman's passion for spin alive

"I'm just doing what I used to do, just in a different way."When an accident left Sue Frost paralysed from the chest down and unable to get on a bike, it looked like her days of leading online spin classes might be with the help of a DJ and producer, the 60-year-old has found a new way to keep her passion Gribby, from Nottingham, is sharing his skills with Sue so she can pump out top tunes while instructing at future spin sessions. Sue, from Lincoln, told the BBC she has had a passion for spin for about 15 years and ended up teaching 11 classes a week after her instructor stepped down - before she broke her neck falling down the stairs at her home three-and-a-half years ago."It's changed my life completely," she said."I've gone from a very active life with my spin classes, cycling and working full-time to doing basically nothing, but just trying to reintroduce things that I was doing before in a different format."She had resigned herself to giving up spin before meeting Paul through SoundLincs, a community music charity based in Lincolnshire, and he then introduced her to the world of DJing. "I wanted to help Sue because I believe that no matter your situation, there's always a way to try and do things," Paul said. "It's just a matter of trying to find them."The 49-year-old, who hosts DJ workshops, told the BBC within the first two hours of meeting Sue, they had come up with the idea of her DJing spin classes."It would actually be something good for Sue to focus on, give her something to do away from spin classes as well," he said."Finding music, creating playlists, practising DJing and just being in a happy place."Paul said after a bit of research they found some decks that fit on Sue's lap, which then connects to an iPad and from that to a speaker. Sue said: "It's something I've never thought about doing before with DJ decks, I honestly thought I was a bit too old for that."But Paul's showing me that you can do anything. If music isn't your life, it can become your life."It was my life before, I've always enjoyed my music, but now I'm just moving on to a different way of doing things."She said she plans on practicing more on her decks before getting people together for an online class."I'm doing what I used to do, but in a different way. I can't get on a spin bike anymore, but that doesn't really matter - I can still teach online," she added: "It's just really inspiring to see, because originally I think Sue just wanted to have a go to see what was going to happen."I think she's always wanted to have a go at DJing and then I think it just spiralled into a whole new area which Sue and I didn't even think we could do,."But I think there's always a way, you've just got to find it."

Surprise letters for Bladon's postman of more than 40 years
Surprise letters for Bladon's postman of more than 40 years

BBC News

timean hour ago

  • BBC News

Surprise letters for Bladon's postman of more than 40 years

The BBC has surprised a postman who has retired after more than four decades with messages from Hogg said he "loved" being the postman in Bladon, Oxfordshire, for 41 years - but that he was looking forward to having a lie Radio Oxford's Adam Ball surprised him with messages from village residents, who said they would "miss [Mr Hogg] something terrible".The villagers also threw a surprise "thank you" party for Mr Hogg at The White House, their local community pub. Mr Hogg said his job was about more than just delivering mail, adding: " I would always try and look out for the vulnerable residents as sometimes I think I was their only contact with the outside world."He also said he always carried dog treats for the canines he encountered on his journalist: Chris Wood You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.

Here is the real reason River City is being axed by BBC bosses
Here is the real reason River City is being axed by BBC bosses

The Herald Scotland

timean hour ago

  • The Herald Scotland

Here is the real reason River City is being axed by BBC bosses

The letter's subject was BBC Scotland cancelling River City, an act I had previously described as cultural vandalism. My correspondent had a cooler disposition and a better way with words. Summing up how the soap had been brought low in recent years, she wrote: 'Its viewing figures were adversely affected by stop/start production runs, erratic scheduling and a general lack of promotion.' Spot on. ​And then came this: 'I began watching River City out of loyalty to my city, but came to the view that it makes an important contribution to the culture of central Scotland.' BBC Scotland HQ at Pacific Quay Watching out of loyalty to my city. How wonderful, how generous, how Scottish is that? Of the thousands of words written and spoken about River City, all the BBC statements, the petition to save the show, the debate in the Scottish Parliament, not one sentence hits home as hard as that contribution. Watching out of loyalty to my city. There writes someone who 'gets' what River City means, and why it is not just another programme that can be binned by BBC Scotland because its face no longer fits. But what do you know, no one is listening. Not to my correspondent, not to those who have signed the petition, not to MSPs, or ministers. It seems the main arguments in favour of keeping River City - that it provides jobs and training for working-class Scots who might otherwise never get a start in TV, as well as being a pretty decent drama beloved by its audience - are not enough for BBC Scotland to change its mind. We know this because the executive who made the decision appeared before Holyrood's culture committee at the end of May and said so. Hayley Valentine, director of BBC Scotland, told MSPs that River City, with its 200,000 viewers in Scotland compared to Shetland's 700,000 'did not pass the value for money test'. But the money saved by axing River City would help to fund three new short-run dramas, she confirmed. Though these will 'absolutely cost more to make', the BBC would 'expect' them to deliver much bigger audiences than River City and 'really hope' they will. Expectations and hope. In other words, BBC Scotland is taking a punt. Making all those people redundant on a gamble. Having said that axing River City was a creative decision, it really does come down to money. As for River City being a way into TV, Ms Valentine said opportunities would still be offered across a wide range of other programmes. So that's okay then. Nothing more to see here, folks. Except it is not okay. It is very far from okay. Cancelling River City has always been about more than the end of one programme. It's about BBC Scotland fighting Scotland's corner within the corporation, and making sure the BBC represents and is reflective of all those who pay for it. Read more On the former, was London asked for more money to fund the short-run dramas? Was there ever a chance of building on the UK-wide iPlayer audience for River City by running a promotion campaign? Where are the figures showing potential job and training opportunities lost versus those created? Was there any analysis or was this simply a case of executives thinking they knew best? I understand BBC Scotland's ambition. It wants another Baby Reindeer. It wants the next Adolescence. But it doesn't have the money of a Netflix or an Apple+, which makes it all the more important to ensure that it is making decisions for the right reasons. When it comes to River City, I'm not sure it is. Just as to govern is to choose, running the BBC is all about choice. Who is out and who is in, who gets the money and who doesn't. BBC Scotland decided, ultimately, that River City was expendable. It has made the arguments about viewing figures and opportunities offered elsewhere, but I think there is another factor at work here. For my money - £174.50 licence fee - River City was vulnerable because it was a Scottish working-class soap made by working-class casts and crews. No one thought there would be the backlash there has been. It wasn't like cancelling Question Time with its well-connected panellists and audiences (now there's an idea). The class ceiling exists in the media in general - heck, in society as a whole. It's not just BBC Scotland. Indeed, BBC Scotland has done more than most to widen access and should be commended for it. Now and then, a youngster will appear who doesn't sound like your typical BBC sort. They thrive on the attention and encouragement, but then at some point they hit that class ceiling. They don't get invited into the room where it happens, so they can't shape the corporation's future, and the story of inequality rumbles on. Representation matters. As the old saying goes, if you can see it, you can be it. For many working-class Scots, River City was 'their' soap, and therefore 'their' way into TV. Doors opened that had too often been closed, and if it could happen for the guy down the road, it could happen for you. You cannot put a price on that kind of positive PR. The same goes for viewer loyalty. Fans of River City have had their patience tested to a degree that would not have happened with any other show. Yet they've kept faith with the programme. Even now, they trust executives will repay that faith and cancel the cancellation, but will they? Back to you, BBC Scotland. Alison Rowat is a senior politics and features writer on The Herald. Contact

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store