Writer who revived Doctor Who to speak at Scottish festival celebrating queer culture
The festival is the first of its kind in Pitlochry
The writer recognised for reviving the acclaimed BBC series Doctor Who is a last minute addition to Alan Cumming’s Out in the Hills festival taking place in Pitlochry next week.
An in conversation event with Russell T Davies is to replace one featuring author Armistead Maupin who due to unforeseen circumstances is no longer able to attend the festival, at Pitlochry Festival Theatre.
The festival, which Cumming has described as a celebration of LGBTQIA+ culture, will also feature acting legend Sir Ian McKellen, Graham Norton and Evelyn Glennie.
The actor and director took over as artistic director at Pitlochry Festival Theatre last year.
Davies, who also created the two Doctor Who spinoffs, Torchwood and, most recently, The War Between the Land and the Sea, will be in conversation with novelist and poet Jackie Kay. His work also includes the ground-breaking Queer As Folk, Bob and Rose, Casanova, and The Second Coming, while he has consistently advocated for the LGBTQIA+ community throughout his career.
He 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.”
The event, which starts on Friday, 16 January, will see Sir Ian starring in Equinox, a brand new one man play by Laurie Slade. Cumming will also perform in a staged reading of an adaptation of a short story by Noel Coward.
Sir Ian said: “When Laurie Slade sent me the script of Equinox, I immediately sent it to Sean Mathias whose taste on all things theatrical I trust implicitly. As a result of his enthusiasm, we had a private reading of the play which excited us enough to want to share it with others.
“I’ve only worked once at Pitlochry with my 80th Birthday show (again directly by Sean). I think Equinox will fit well into the queer festival and I look forward to hearing an audience’s response.”
Meanwhile, Scotland’s first openly gay footballer Zander Murray will speak to charity LEAP Sports, which promotes inclusion and participation for LGBTQIA+ people in sport. Other events will be on topics ranging from crime writing to yoga and baking.
Drop-in workshops for young people will be held across the weekend, as well as stand-up comedy, a ceilidh and a DJ set from Junglehussi.
A film by Glasgow artist and fimaker Lewis Hetherington, who is also curating the festival, will also be exhibited. Who Will Be Remembered Here was co-created with CJ Mahony and displayed at this year’s Edinburgh Art Festival.
In 2008, Davies received an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list for services to television drama.
“I intend this to be a yearly thing,” he said. “What's so exciting about it is that when we put the word out, so many people were like ‘that's a great idea. I want to come’. So we've got a pretty heavy-hitting schedule for a first time festival.”
Some events have already sold out, however, tickets for others are available here.
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