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Cumming and Hetherington triumph Out in the Hills

Richard Beck Richard Beck
11 Feb 2026

Although littered with celebrities and authorities on a range of subjects, few could have predicted the success of Out in the Hills, a remarkable three-day exploration and celebration of things LGBTQIA+ at the Pitlochry Festival Theatre.

Mind expanding, moving, and fun

The venue is held in high esteem by locals and others further afield. Many wondered what the new era of Alan Cumming might hold for their beloved arts centre and eyebrows were probably raised when he proclaimed, with an air of take-no-prisoners, albeit tempered, “Out in the Hills is my first piece of new programming in 2026 as Artistic Director of Pitlochry Festival Theatre and I think it perfectly demonstrates the ethos I want to infuse all my work with here… and I’m inviting the public to take a chance on new experiences as well as revel in those they already love.”

And they did just that, in their droves. Ticket sales hit 4,402. Pitlochry, although accessible, is a small yet picturesque town, but “What are all these people doing here, in the middle of nowhere in the middle of January?” became a commonly overheard observation.

Cumming has pulling power, but his idea for the Festival was realised by programmer Lewis Hetherington who, in his own words, put together a line-up of “inspiring, thought-provoking and beautiful events.” He had a clear vision for this festival: “Come with an open heart and mind and you’ll leave with a richer understanding of the world around you and a deeper sense of empathy for your fellow humans. It’s going to be mind-expanding, moving, and fun!” And it was.

Cumming himself led a conversation with Graham Norton, who was as entertaining and relaxed as the interviewee on the sofa as he is in his usual TV host position. Russell T Davies was similarly open and at ease in the hands of former Scots Makar Jackie Kay. Cumming, with music, songs and a cast of five, later showed his own remarkable talent in a rehearsed reading of a new cabaret-style adaptation of Noel Coward’s Me and the Girls. Also written for an older man, Laurie Slade’s Equinox saw Sir Ian McKellen,  co-directed by André Agius and Laurie Slade, movingly deliver his new meditation on mortality, meaning, and the stories we tell ourselves at life’s end.

Variety was at the heart of the festival, which opened with a musical reminder from the Resol String Quartet that classical composers such as Tchaikovsky, Schubert and Barber had struggled with their identity and deserve an honourable place in queer history, while from our own time we heard the compositional brilliance of openly queer Pulitzer Prize-winner Caroline Shaw.

Continuing the idea that queer lives, past and present, must be seen and heard, Who Will Be Remembered Here, a film from director Michael Sherrington with co-directors Lewis Hetherington and CJ Mahony, enabled 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). The tone for the session was movingly set by Malin Lewis, with a mix of traditional and new tunes on the pipes.

Sounds continued to fill the air as world-renowned percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie covered the floor with an array of intriguing instruments to accompany best-selling author Juano Diaz reading from his moving memoir, Slum Boy. Music also brought both evenings to an end. One night we revelled in the joy of a traditional Scottish dance party, courtesy of Malin Lewis’s Pride Ceilidh Band, hosted by Chris Wilson, and the next it was disco with DJ Junglehussi, a queer leader in Glasgow’s electronic underground.

Saturday brought Match of the Gay on LGBTQIA+ Voices in Football. Here Coinneach MacLeod made the first of two appearances, contributing his years of experience at FIFA, UEFA and LEAP Sports, the leading charity promoting inclusion and participation for LGBTQIA+ people in sport. With all the makings of a chat show host, the charming Zander Murray, Scotland’s first openly gay professional footballer, also welcomed Amy McDonald (former Scotland national team).

Coinneach MacLeod is known as the international best-selling author and TV personality The Hebridean Baker, but on this occasion, with host Tony Kearney, he was here to share his rarely told story of growing up gay on the Isle of Lewis and how that experience shaped his life, career and writing.

The importance of oral traditions was highlighted in Whose History Is It Anyway? by archivist and tradition bearer Catherine McPhee and Ashley Douglas, who has just completed her groundbreaking research into Marie Maitland, Scotland’s little-known 16th-century poet whose words testify to her deep and unapologetic love for another woman. Going back even further in time, Scottish-Indian, non-binary, neurodiverse storyteller Niall Moorjani performed a delightfully irreverent retelling of the Arthurian legend The Green Knight (but it’s gay) in a joyous romp full of silliness, queerness and sharp humour.

But the serious stuff was not over. Broadcaster and author Gemma Cairney explored politics, queerness, resilience and personal stories with the youngest person elected to the House of Commons, Mhairi Black. Then, in Murder She Wrote (no, not that one), we heard what happens when two “crime fiction queens unite”. International bestselling author Val McDermid and award-winning novelist Louise Welsh discussed writing, crime and queer women in literature. A real-life character then took to the stage as Glasgow International Comedy Festival sell-out Kim Blythe gave us Cowboy, of the dodgy tradesman type.

While exhibitions and workshops continued to entertain, in the closing stages of the festival a simple phrase caused some puzzlement. In Family Pride, award-winning journalist for Cosmopolitan, Catriona Innes introduced trailblazing trans playwright Jo Clifford with the words, “My dad, she…”

Innes went on to explain that this is how she and her sister refer to the person who is their father, but who over twenty years ago transitioned to become a woman. Suddenly, after several years of often rancorous debate and legal disputes, the “trans issue” took on a moving human dimension embodied in a close-knit, loving family. What was or is all the fuss about? Clifford was a man who enjoyed a 33-year marriage before the tragic passing of his wife. He fathered two daughters and realised it was time to release the true person within and become a woman. She pointed out in the interview that the trans controversies, where they exist in this country, are largely of our own cultural making, for seeing gender as an either/or rather than a continuum, as found in India and among Native American Indians, for example, regions where she has received the warmest of receptions.

Talking of which, a huge thank you must go to all the wonderful staff who welcomed, worked, smiled and laughed over the weekend at the box office, as ushers, in the bars and kitchens, as cleaners and security staff, without whom the event would not have been such a massive triumph.

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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