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Out in the Hills: Alan Cumming Brings Queer Joy, Big Names and Sold-Out Buzz to the Scottish Highlands

Richard Beck Richard Beck
8 Jan 2026

Pitlochry Festival Theatre leaps into the new year with Out in the Hills, a brand new festival that celebrates all things LGBTQIA+. Devised by its Artistic Director Alan Cumming and curated by award-winning playwright and lecturer Lewis Hetherington, it marks a vibrant departure from the theatre’s traditional programming. Hailed as “a bold, inclusive celebration of queer voices and creative expression that is set to bring light, colour, and connection to the Highlands”, the three-day weekend event promises something for everyone in its mixture of theatre, music, film, dance, exhibitions and workshops.

A bold, inclusive celebration of queer voices and creative expression

The Festival has attracted some big names. Award-winning screenwriter and television producer Russell T Davies will be in conversation with the acclaimed novelist and poet Jackie Kay. Davies has always been an advocate for the LGBTQIA+ community, to which his groundbreaking series Queer as Folk (1999–2000) was testament. Speaking of his participation in the event, Davies said: “It’s my delight to attend this great new Scottish festival and come out of the closet as a fully-fledged Welshman. Let the controversy begin!”

That’s the sort of gusto to expect at the Festival. In that spirit is the rehearsed reading by legendary screen and stage actor Ian McKellen of Equinox, a new one-man play by Laurie Slade. In the same vein is the unique performance by author and acclaimed Scottish artist Juano Diaz and world-renowned solo percussionist and composer Evelyn Glennie. Reading from his powerful memoir Slum Boy, his words will meld into improvised immersive sounds and visuals to create a bold, sensory journey. Currently, these shows have no availability, along with a brand new stage adaptation by Neil Bartlett of Noel Coward’s 1964 short story Me and the Girls, with Alan Cumming leading the cast, having also appeared in conversation with the celebrated chat show host Graham Norton at another sold-out event. Similarly, no places remain at Finlay Wilson’s Kilted Yoga and the Murder, She Wrote conversation with Val McDermid and Louise Welsh.

Ticket sales for those events are a measure of how well the Festival is being received. However, there is still availability for the remaining items on the programme. On Friday it’s possible to enjoy Resol String Quartet in a celebration of classical music by queer composers across history. There is also a showing and discussion of Who Will Be Remembered Here, a film by Lewis Hetherington, CJ Mahony and Michael Sherrington that connects queer voices across centuries of Scottish history. The film invites four queer writers to reimagine historic sites in their own languages: Robert Softley Gale (English), Harry Josephine Giles (Scots), Robbie MacLeòid (Gaelic) and Bea Webster (BSL). Woven together, their performances provide a hauntingly beautiful exploration of memory, absence and belonging. You can then round off the day in traditional Highland style with Queer as Folk! of Equinox: a big gay ceilidh with the Malin Lewis Trio, hosted by cabaret star Chris Wilson.

Saturday features Match of the Gay, with a panel of voices who are reshaping the pitch, hosted by Scotland’s first openly gay professional footballer, Zander Murray, who will guide an open and honest conversation about courage, visibility and inclusion in the beautiful game. He is joined by Amy McDonald (former Scotland National Team), Coinneach MacLeod (known as the Hebridean Baker, with years of experience at FIFA and UEFA) and LEAP Sports.

Expect sapphic love and the oral traditions of Skye as archivist and tradition-bearer Catherine McPhee enters into conversation with historian Ashley Douglas, whose groundbreaking research opens up the life and works of Marie Maitland, Scotland’s little-known 16th-century poet, in Whose History Is It Anyway?

Another conversation follows as international best-selling author Coinneach MacLeod shares his rarely told story of growing up gay on the Isle of Lewis, with Radio Scotland presenter Tony Kearney, who grew up on the Isle of Barra. Meanwhile, if you're looking for a hands-on experience, there’s a drop-in art session: Colour Outside the Lines: Keith Haring (for young people and families), and another the next day inspired by Frida Kahlo.

To round off the day there is a delightfully irreverent retelling of the Arthurian legend from Scottish Indian, non-binary, neurodiverse storyteller Niall Moorjani, performing The Green Knight (but it’s gay), followed by a joyful, high-energy dance party with Glasgow-based DJ, artist and photographer Junglehussi (Matthew Arthur Williams), running till midnight.

On Sunday, Mhairi Black, one of the youngest MPs ever elected, reflects on her life, career and identity in conversation with Gemma Cairney, known for her work on BBC Radio 1 and 6 Music, her acclaimed books and her advocacy for young people. Later, comedian Kim Blythe and playwright Jo Clifford, with her daughter, journalist Catriona Innes, will come together for Family Pride, a moving conversation about queerness, family and love. The event will close with the sell-out Glasgow International Comedy Festival show Kim Blythe: Cowboy, not the rugged, western kind but more the questionable tradesman.

Though that’s not quite the end. Exhibitions over the weekend feature Camp Trans Scotland, curated by filmmaker and photographer Jules Lacave-Fontourcy and activist and author Tam Omond, who, via photographs and the new film The River and The Glen, lead us into a time and space built on and by nature, community care and trans ancestry.

Portraits of an LGBTI+ Generation: The Coming Back Out Ball, conceived by Lewis Hetherington, pairs photographic portraits taken by Tiu Makkonnen with short films created in close collaboration with each participant.

Football v Homophobia Scotland’s Oral History Archive showcases snapshots of longer oral history interviews with players, fans and officials at all levels of the beautiful game, conducted between March and June 2025.

In the words of the organisers, “Be curious, be entertained and be connected”, and enjoy your weekend at Out in the Hills, out in the hills.

Richard Beck

Richard Beck

A graduate in theology and education, Richard acted and contributed to dance, drama and music productions throughout his teaching career. He joined Broadway Baby in 2014 and is now our Editor-in-Chief. He usually disappears to warmer climes for the winter to pursue his passion for travel.

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