We are delighted to announce the details of Pitlochry Festival Theatre's 2010 Summer Season.

 After 2009`s hugely successful Home Season, the 2010 Season features six equally entertaining shows, but this time all telling stories set outwith Scotland and presented under the title of . . . Away!

We launch the season in sparkling Broadway style on 14th May with Kiss Me, Kate. Featuring a cast of 17 actor-musicians, this smash hit musical comedy features a wonderfully witty script, fabulous dance sequences and a score of classic Cole Porter numbers. Directed by PFT's Artistic Director, John Durnin, PFT's flagship production for the 2010 Season is romantic, touching - and very funny. So make a date with Kate this Summer!

Often described as the funniest play ever written, Noises Off by Michael Frayn opens on 20th May. Directed by Ken Alexander, this brilliant, irresistible comedy follows a group of ill-matched thespians on a tour of a tired old sex farce called Nothing On. Things go from bad to worse as the tour lurches from one shambles to another. And just when their nightmare seems to be over, there`s one final chaotic performance to get through . . .

Playwright Tom Stoppard makes a hilarious appearance in the Season line-up, when his affectionate tribute to the Golden Age of sophisticated comedy, Rough Crossing, opens on 27th May. Directed by Richard Baron, this wickedly funny tale of romantic mishaps and theatrical disaster on the high seas offers a passing nod to Noel Coward and a wink to Irving Berlin (delightfully impersonated in songs by André Previn). And then there`s the storm scene . . .

And talking of storms . . . when a freak blizzard blocks the highway west of Kansas city, four passengers on the bus to Topeka are forced to spend the night in a small town diner. Opening on 3rd June, William Inge's Bus Stop is a bittersweet romantic comedy, famously made into a film with Marilyn Monroe in the leading role. Set in 1955, this classic tale of lonely lives colliding in the vastness of the American mid-west is by one of America's finest playwrights.

With a General Election in the air, An Ideal Husband, which opens on 15th July, has a particular contemporary resonance. Must a politician be perfect? Should anyone be judged entirely by their past? Written by Ireland`s greatest ever playwright, Oscar Wilde, this dark, glittering comedy about public image and private honour poses questions just as valid today as in 1895, and features all of Wilde`s characteristic style, elegance and wit.

Adapted from Émile Zola's novel by Olwen Wymark, Nana completes the line-up for 2010. Banned in Britain when first published in 1880, Zola`s classic study of a decadent, celebrity-obsessed society tells the story of Nana, a talentless girl from the slums who somehow captivates high society Paris. But at the height of her fame, she falls in love with the wrong man - and disaster ensues, for Nana and all who know her. The Scottish première production of this provocative tale of lust and corruption opens on 18th August!

2010 Ensemble

This year's expanded ensemble will boast several familiar faces from recent seasons: Dougal Lee returns for his 9th PFT Season after his critically acclaimed performances in Whisky Galore - A Musical! and Good Things; Greg Powrie is back for his 8th Season, fresh from his multiple incarnations in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, Whisky Galore - A Musical!, What Every Woman Knows and The Servant O'Twa Maisters; and having strutted his stuff in Whisky Galore - A Musical! and What Every Woman Knows, Robin Harvey Edwards is tickled pink to be back at PFT for his 6th Season.

George Rae and Sandy Batchelor both return from the 2009 company for a second Season at PFT, following their all-singing, all-dancing performances in Whisky Galore - A Musical! amongst many other roles; Jacqueline Dutoit, last seen in 2008 in Habeus Corpus, Arcadia and Heartbreak House returns for her 6th Season; and last, but by no means least, we welcome back PFT favourite Martyn James for a rip-roaring 23rd Season, following rave reviews for his performances last year in The Servant O' Twa Maisters and Whisky Galore - A Musical!

Chief Executive & Artistic Director, John Durnin, said:

"Having devoted the Home Season in 2009 to a celebration of Scottish playwrights and authors, it seemed only right that in 2010 we should cast our net further afield. So the Away Season features six shows from the pens of playwrights and authors from around the world - three of them featuring multi-national collaborations!

From America, there`s Cole Porter and the Spewacks, Willam Inge and Olwen Wymark; from England, we have Shakespeare, Michael Frayn and Tom Stoppard (who, as he`s Czech by birth, adds another country to the list!); Ireland features with Oscar Wilde; while Hungary`s Ferenc Molnár and France`s Émile Zola provide the original material for two of the featured plays.

So a visit to PFT this Summer will give audiences the chance to sample outstanding work from a range of international writers - and manage a spot of globe-trotting while they`re here!"

Picture caption: 2010 PFT ensemble.
Back From left to right, backrow: Greg Powrie, Jennifer Rhodes, Jacqueline dutoit, Amanda Gordon, David Malcolm, David Delve, Naomi Lee Schulke, Robin Harvey Edwards, Linsey Danvers, Martyn James
Front Left to right: Sandy Batchelor, Martine McMenemy, David Alcock, Graham Vick, Dougal Lee, George Rae, Mark Stanford, Kate Quinnell.

Opening Performances:
May 14th, 8.00pm: Kiss Me, Kate, directed by John Durnin (preview)
May 20th, 2.00pm: Noises Off, directed by Ken Alexander (preview)
May 27th, 2.00pm: Rough Crossing, directed by Richard Baron (preview)
June 3rd, 2.00pm: Bus Stop, directed by Ken Alexander (preview)
July 15th, 2.00pm: An Ideal Husband, directed by Richard Baron
August 18th, 8.00pm: Nana, directed by John Durnin
Listings Information:
Tickets Prices from £13.50 - £30.00, concessions available
Contact Box Office: 01796 484626 or email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Press Nights
Please note: complementary press tickets are not available until after the Preview period (14th May - 7th June inclusive) has concluded. Representatives of the press are invited to attend the following Press Performances as our guests:
June 8th, 8.00pm: Kiss Me, Kate
June 9th, 2.00pm: Noises Off
June 9th, 8.00pm: Rough Crossing
June 10th, 8.00pm: Bus Stop
July 15th, 8.00pm: An Ideal Husband
August 18th, 8.00pm: Nana