Alan Cumming and Shirley Henderson to star in new production of musical A HISTORY OF PAPER
BAFTA and Olivier award winners Alan Cumming and Shirley Henderson are set to unite for the first time onstage this August in the highly anticipated Pitlochry Festival Theatre and Dundee Rep Theatre production of A History of Paper.
Oliver Emanuel and Gareth Williams’s beautiful Scottish musical is about unbounding joy, impossible grief, a man, a woman and the little bits of paper that make up a life.
Directed by Dundee Rep Theatre’s award winning Artistic Director Andrew Panton, A History of Paper will run at Pitlochry Festival Theatre from 9 August – 12 September before heading to Dundee Rep Theatre from 16 – 19 September.
A History of Paper is a musical love story which charts the progress of a relationship between a man and a woman through the little bits of paper left behind - every ticket, letter, menu, and shopping list. It’s an incredibly poignant and moving play, and a testament to the brilliance of Gareth Williams and of Oliver Emanuel who sadly passed away in 2023.
A History of Paper started life as an original radio play, written by Oliver Emanuel, and first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2017. Oliver, and composer Gareth Williams, subsequently adapted it into a musical for the stage, and it had its world premiere at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2024. The production went on to receive critical acclaim at the festival, earning a Fringe First Award, Music Theatre Review Best Musical and a Best Director Award at the Critics Awards for Theatre in Scotland (CATS) for director Andrew Panton.
A History of Paper’s exciting cast will feature Tony, Olivier, BAFTA and Emmy award winner Alan Cumming (The High Life – The Musical, Traitors US, X2, Avengers: Doomsday and Cabaret on Broadway) and Olivier and BAFTA award winner Shirley Henderson (Harry Potter franchise, Bridget Jones, I Swear and Girl from the North Country at the Old Vic Theatre). This pair of Scottish acting titans reunite after first playing opposite each other in Scottish Television’s Shadow of the Stone 40 years ago! More recently, they appeared together in Brian Cox’s directorial film debut Glenrothan. They will be joined onstage by pianist and music director Gavin Whitworth.
Alan Cumming said: “I fell in love with this musical when I saw it at the Traverse as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2024. I couldn’t stop thinking about it and felt so connected to its narrative.
“Andrew and I asked Shirley Henderson to come and sing through some of the songs with me, and suddenly it became a deep and rich and heart-wrenching memory play, as two older people looked back at their lives together.”
Shirley Henderson said: “I feel very happy and a little nervous and have this little bubble of excitement in my tummy to be jumping in at the deep end with the extraordinary Alan Cumming as we try to bring A History of Paper to life. It is such a beautiful play full of tenderness and fun and love and sweet music written by Oliver Emanuel and Gareth Williams. With this gorgeous writing, sweet music, my friend Alan and the very brilliant Andrew Panton who will direct the play meant I could only say yes when they asked me to become involved.”
Joining director Andrew Panton on the creative team are designer Ana Inés Jabares Pita, musical director Gavin Whitworth, lighting designer Bruno Poet, and sound designer Alexandra Faye Braithwaite.
The production forms part of Alan Cumming’s inaugural season as Artistic Director at Pitlochry Festival Theatre, as the theatre celebrates its 75th anniversary.