ITS origin is a secret promise made by visionary John Stewart during the horrors of the Second World War – but it is doubtful that even he could have predicted just how well Pitlochry Festival Theatre would flourish.
When Stewart, founder of Glasgow’s Park Theatre Club, visited the town in 1944, he dreamed of one day establishing a theatre there.
A romantic at heart, he hid a piece of paper in a wayside post beside the River Tummel which stated: “When peace is declared, I shall return to this spot to give thanks to God and to establish my festival.”
On VE Day, he recovered the note, made a silent prayer of thanks beneath the open sky and vowed again to fulfil his promise.
However, it wasn’t until 1951 that he was able to make his dream a reality, starting the festival theatre off in a specially constructed tent.
Setbacks as well as successes were to follow through the years with each subsequent director facing and overcoming the challenges of the day.
And it’s perhaps fitting that the swan song of the director who has led the theatre through the pandemic is The Sound Of Music – a story of survival against the odds in a beautiful mountain setting.
Elizabeth Newman believes there are two main reasons the theatre has survived and thrived even though it is outwith Scotland’s cities.
“The first is the brilliant productions and the second is actually the location,” she told the Sunday National.
“When Stewart conceived the idea, he saw this beautiful place that would enable people to have a kind of theatrical pilgrimage.
“He wanted to bring theatre to the Highlands in a repertory system and he wanted people to be able to see six plays in six days which you still can.”
From that initial festival week, the offering has grown to productions throughout the year with many having fairly long runs to meet demand.
“The kernel remains the same but it has evolved into this fantastic theatre complex by the River Tummel,” said Newman.
The theatre has grown physically during her tenure with the opening of a studio in 2022 and the creation of an amphitheatre in the grounds for open air performances.
“The amphitheatre was very much a pandemic response as we needed to be outdoors,” she said. “The garden was always intended to have performances in it and when the pandemic hit, we had to think how to turn it into an opportunity as it could have been a disaster.”
The open-air shows have continued to sell out, as have the productions in the new studio which has produced new Scottish work since it opened in 2022.
“It has been absolutely fantastic – Nan Shepherd was a sell-out we are having to revive next year, while Brenda Line has also been selling out which is really great,” said Newman.
The theatre’s online presence was established during the pandemic and a telephone call service was set up to keep people connected.
“We did three pieces of content a day online and people could log in at breakfast, lunch and tea so that we were there making contact with them and they could feel they were not alone,” Newman said. “That was really popular and we had two million impressions across the first six months.”
A series of new audio plays called Sound Stage was also established and is still on the go, having reached 48 countries across the world.
“We did anything that meant we could still make work within the restrictions,” said Newman. “Our aim is to serve people all over the world and try to engage them as much as possible with what is happening in Pitlochry.
“We also commissioned hundreds of new art for our Shades Of Tay project. It was a passion project for our organisation to really celebrate our place and where we fit in it.”
After building on the vision of the theatre’s founder, Newman is off to pastures new in Sheffield, having stayed longer than the three to five years she initially envisaged. “I ended up staying six and a half years and that is very much because I have loved being here and loved all that we have achieved together,” she said.
“Now feels like time to hand on the baton and for the next chapter to be written.”
During her tenure, Newman has directed 17 productions, including Faith Healer for which she won best director in the Critic’s Awards for Scotland and critically acclaimed shows of A Streetcar Named Desire, Shirley Valentine and Sunshine On Leith.
Under her charge the theatre was also nominated for best theatre in the UK at the Stage Awards and has established collaborations with the National Theatre of Scotland, Edinburgh’s Royal Lyceum, Capital Theatres and HOME Manchester.
“What I was really clear about was that I wanted Pitlochry to be Scotland’s largest producing theatre which it now is,” she said. “It produces more work than any other producing theatre in the country and I think we are at the heart of Scottish theatre.
“We are sharing our work all over Scotland, we co-produce work within and outwith our country and we are flying the flag for making work and getting as many people as possible to come to the theatre.”
She is sad to be leaving but happy that she has acquired the rights for a production of The Sound Of Music as she has long wanted to direct a production of the show.
“Now feels like the right moment to tell this story and to bring our own hills alive with the sound of music,” she said. “I’m ready for a new chapter and I feel that with our brilliant board we have taken the organisation to a new place, where we are more connected to Scottish culture and we are leading the charge for making in Scotland.”
The Sound Of Music will play at Pitlochry Festival Theatre from November 15 to December 22
