Musicals are living their High Life in Scotland, says Alan Cumming

Alan Cumming believes he's having a musical renaissance.

The Traitors presenter, actor and artistic director of Pitlochry Festival Theatre has only ever starred in two musicals in his career – Cabaret on Broadway in 1998, when he won a Tony Award for his portrayal of the Emcee, and eight years later, a production of The Threepenny Opera.

"I'm not really a musical expert or aficionado," he says.

"But in 2026, I will be in more musicals in one year than in the rest of my career in the theatre."

And he's not alone. It feels as if the whole country is having a musical renaissance at the moment, with a steady stream of new shows opening in theatres across the country.

Among them, Once, which will open Cumming's inaugural season at Pitlochry next week.

'Real sense of community'

Although set in a Dublin pub, the stage version of Once has distinctly Scottish roots.

It was created by John Tiffany at the request of former Bond producer Barbara Broccoli.

"I thought she was mad," he recalls, "but there was a scene which chimed in the film, of a big Dublin house party, where everyone does their turn and that I thought was the way in, only we used a pub where they swapped Czech and Irish folk songs."

At the time, he was taking a sabbatical from the National Theatre of Scotland in the US and Black Watch, which he'd directed and co-created, was on tour there.

"My whole apprenticeship for life, work and heart was here in Scotland. Glasgow University, the Traverse Theatre and the National Theatre of Scotland.

"So I made the show out of the person I was then, someone who was passionate about the particular characteristics of Scottish theatre, like music and direct address and a real sense of community."

The show was a huge hit, winning eight Tony Awards, and ran on Broadway for three years. But it's never been to Scotland until now.

Alan Cumming's friendship with John and connection to Barbara Broccoli through his role in the Bond movie GoldenEye meant it could be secured quickly.

But it's not just Pitlochry where musically-based shows are blooming. Across the country there are a number of new homegrown shows, and many more to come.

Another National Theatre of Scotland show, The Lee Jeans Musical, will continue to tour as The High Life: The Musical draws to a close.

Frances Poet, who wrote the script, also wrote the play Small Acts of Love, which reopened the Citizens Theatre last autumn. Ricky Ross, who created the music for that show, also co-created Black Diamonds and the Blue Brazil about the passion of a small-town football club.

Another musician, Colin MacIntyre of Mull Historical Society, is developing a show about the Battle of Culloden.

Meanwhile the independent producing company Raw Material will launch a new hip hop musical about William Wallace this autumn, having started the year with Scots the Musical, a satirical rave through Scottish history in song.

"I think there has always been a strong tradition of theatre and music in Scotland," says co-director Gillian Garritty.

"Folk singing is storytelling in song. It's part of our identity, so it doesn't take a huge leap to put it on stage in Scotland.

"But they're not jukebox musicals, it's theatre where the songs and music drive the stories forward."

Her co-director, Margaret-Anne O'Donnell, believes the boom in musical theatre may be down to timing.

"It takes a long time to put a musical together. They're bigger and require more investment," she says.

She also believes there's a rich selection of talented performers, ready to follow in the footsteps of the previous generation.

One of their next projects is a pantomime with Forbes Masson, who co-created and starred in The High Life TV show and subsequent musical, which grew out of his collaboration with Alan Cumming on the comedy act Victor and Barry.

They all worked together at the Tron Theatre in Glasgow in the early 90s.

"We did everything. It was a great time to be working, but none of us had any idea what we were in the middle of," says Gillian.

For Forbes Masson, the period was vital to the work he does now.

"We started with Michael Boyd at the Tron pantomime and we wanted to get the essence of that postmodern, Scottish music hall culture and put it on a big stage," he says.

As well as the pantomime Aladdie at Cumbernauld Theatre, Forbes Masson also has plans for a number of new productions, which, like The High Life: The Musical, will be homegrown and for a Scottish audience.

"Alan coming and taking over at Pitlochry has been a huge shot of adrenaline to Scottish theatre and I think we both want to come back and give stuff back to Scotland," says Masson.

"There's no theatre that's available for me to run, but I'm going to work in theatres that I used to work in and create work for them, starting off at Cumbernauld.

"That's where I first saw Wildcat when I was at school."

He also hopes to revive some of his early stage musicals, including Mince from 2001, as well as creating brand new shows.

A boom in musical theatre isn't uncommon in troubled times, when audiences want some escapist entertainment, particularly if it tells a story about their own culture.

But in his new role as artistic director as well as performer, Alan Cumming believes it's vital the sector is adequately funded.

"I think there's something about the range of topics that people are taking on now that's really exciting and shows their confidence," he says.

"Sometimes when things are rocky and you don't feel supported, what you do is turn up the volume and get cracking. But I don't agree that people make better art when they're challenged.

"I think people make better art when they feel supported and they are not worrying about where the next meal's coming from."