Harry Potter star Shirley Henderson has told of her excitement to be “jumping in at the deep end” ahead of appearing on stage with Alan Cumming for the first time this summer.
The stars will unite in a new production of A History Of Paper at the Pitlochry Festival Theatre where it forms part of Cumming’s inaugural season as artistic director.
The show is described as a musical love story which charts the progress of a relationship between a man and a woman through the little bits of paper left behind such as letters, menus, tickets and shopping lists.
A History of Paper started life as an original radio play, written by the late Oliver Emanuel, and was first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2017.
It was later adapted into a musical for the stage by Emanuel and composer Gareth Williams, and it had its world premiere at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2024.
Henderson, known for playing Moaning Myrtle in the Harry Potter films and whose credits also include Bridget Jones films, I Swear and Dept Q, said she is looking forward to the show.
She 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.”
The show is produced by Pitlochry Festival Theatre and Dundee Rep Theatre and will open in Pitlochry before transferring to Dundee.
Cumming, known for roles including X2: X-Men United and GoldenEye, said: “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.
“Andrew 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.”
While Henderson and Cumming have acted together on television and in film it will be their first appearance together on stage.
They both appeared in Scottish Television’s Shadow Of The Stone around four decades ago and more recently appeared together in Glenrothan, Brian Cox’s directorial film debut.
A History Of Paper will run at Pitlochry Festival Theatre from August 9-September 12 and will then transfer to Dundee Rep Theatre from September 16-19.
Director Andrew Panton, who is artistic director of Dundee Rep, said: “A History of Paper is a piece that is incredibly close to my heart and artistic soul.
“Every step of our creative journey has been a celebration of Olly through his beautiful words and Gareth’s stunning score.
“I couldn’t be more thrilled to be embarking on this exciting adventure with Alan and Shirley as we create a new production together.”
