Pitlochry Festival Theatre is to open its 2022 season with a dazzling revival of the musical, Sunshine on Leith.
Opening later this month on May 20, the show will be the first production to be staged in the Auditorium at Pitlochry Festival Theatre for over two years.
Sunshine on Leith is an ever-popular bit of musical theatre created by Stephen Greenhorn, featuring the songs of the much-loved Scottish band The Proclaimers and made into a hugely successful British feature film adaptation starring Jane Horrocks and Peter Mullan in 2013.
The spectacular offering opening soon in Pitlochry is a co-production with Capital Theatres, co-directed by PFT’s artistic director Elizabeth Newman and associate director Ben Occhipinti.
After opening at Pitlochry, Sunshine on Leith transfers to the King’s Theatre in Edinburgh from June 7-18 and then returns to Pitlochry on June 24 for the rest of the summer.
The 14-strong cast is busy rehearsing and includes Keith Jack (BBC One’s Any Dream Will Do where he was runner-up in the popular BBC talent show and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, UK Tour), Connor Going (The Choir of Man, West End), Rhiane Drummond (Dreamgirls and 9-5, West End), Alyson Orr and Keith Macpherson.
To set the scene: Servicemen Davy (Connor Going) and Ally (Keith Jack) return from war overseas, to be confronted with civilian life filled with relationships, blind dates, and new responsibilities. As the pair embark on intertwining journeys in love, they begin to question what home really means to them as they rediscover their sense of identity.
Elizabeth Newman said: “It has been an incredibly challenging couple of years. After two years without performances indoors, reopening Pitlochry Festival Theatre with Sunshine on Leith feels like the perfect way to welcome audiences back inside.
“I’ve wanted to make Stephen Greenhorn’s fantastic Scottish musical, with its many classics from The Proclaimers, for years.
“It is an uplifting, hopeful story about family, responsibility, and love. And the musical itself is the perfect blend of singing, drama, music, and dancing.
“After everything that has happened, this wonderful musical offers us the chance to really celebrate life. It certainly feels like we’ve walked 500 miles to come back together, and I couldn’t think of a better song for us to be singing as we welcome people back indoors.”
Tickets for Sunshine on Leith are available from the box office on 01796 484626 or online at pitlochryfestivaltheatre.com
