An unusual 60th Anniversary treat!

An intriguing special event is taking place at Pitlochry Festival Theatre on Sunday 2nd October. Local historian Colin Liddell, the third member of his family to be a member of the Board of Governors of the Theatre in the Hills, will be presenting an unusual 60th Anniversary treat.

Colin explained: "In celebration of PFT's Diamond Jubilee, I was asked to give a talk about the fascinating history of the theatre. Little did I realize that it would absorb quite so much of my spare time last winter, exploring and restoring some order to the theatre's extensive archives. However, in doing so, I unearthed some real gems of theatre history and some wonderful photographs!"

Colin continued: "This talk will offer a unique opportunity to see rare and unusual images featuring well-kent faces from the Pitlochry stage from recent and bygone days, as well as, for example, the erection of the tented structure before the first season opening in 1951, the Queen Mother's visit in 1960 and Prince Charles' visits in 1981 and 2002 - and that's in addition to hearing the intriguing stories of the directors and designers, actors and managers, and sixty years of plays!"

PFT's Chief Executive & Artistic Director, John Durnin, is delighted that the theatre's extraordinary history is going to be recounted during the 60th Anniversary year. "For both for our regular audiences and for the people of Pitlochry, Colin's wonderful story of the downs and ups of this very special theatre will make for a highly entertaining evening, full of drama - both onstage and off!" said Mr. Durnin. "Naturally enough, all of us at PFT have spent quite a bit of time in 2011 looking back to PFT`s formative years in the 1940s and 1950s. But Colin has now topped that by condensing the extraordinary story of the last sixty years into two 45 minute sessions, with a 20 minute interval in between - during which he will be showing even more of the marvellous images he has unearthed from the archives."

If this wasn't enough, Colin's enthralling narrative will be interspersed with a host of interesting PFT facts, such as the top ten most performed playwrights at PFT and the most often performed plays, together with a roll call of the actors who have appeared most often on the renowned Pitlochry stage.

With tickets priced at only £10 (free entrance for Festival Circle donors and John Stewart Society members), this account of the fascinating history of Scotland's famous Theatre in the Hills (Sunday 2nd October, 8.00pm at Pitlochry Festival Theatre) is an event not to be missed! Call PFT's Box Office on 01796 484626 or go online at to select and secure your seat.