Pitlochry Festival Theatre Will Stage The World Premiere of UNDER ANOTHER SKY in August

Pitlochry Festival Theatre has announced that it will be staging this August the eagerly awaiting world prémiere of David Greig's adaptation of Charlotte Higgins critically acclaimed book Under Another Sky.

Directed by Pitlochry Festival Theatre's artistic director Elizabeth Newman, Under Another Sky will premiére in the breathing taking setting of the Theatre's Amphitheatre from 10 August till 23 September

Under Another Sky tells the story of Charlotte and Matthew as they travel on a life affirming journey in their reliable VW Camper around the UK. We share in Charlotte's journey to write her latest book. We are left asking how we, as individuals and a society, relate to a deep and sometimes irrecoverable past when the Romans held much of Britain as an imperial possession - through traces and echoes in the landscape, through artefacts, and encounters with legends like Boudicca and Tacitus.

Making his welcome return to Pitlochry Festival Theatre after the staging last year of his critically acclaimed play Adventures with the Painted People, David Greig is a multi-award-winning playwright who became the Artistic Director of The Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh in 2015. David's most notable plays include The Events, Midsummer and Europe. His stage adaptations have included Solaris, Local Hero, Dr Seuss' The Lorax and Touching the Void. David wrote the book for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which opened in the West End in 2013 and then transferred to Broadway in 2017.

Playwright David Greig said

"When I first read 'Under Another Sky' I wanted to adapt it for the stage. I love exploring the Roman past of Britain, but the story of the people who study that past is almost as interesting as the past itself. I am so pleased that this passion project has found a stage, and what a stage. The Pitlochry Amphitheatre is quite simply the most beautiful outdoor space in Scotland."

Director Elizabeth Newman added

"We developed Under Another Sky in 2019 at the Edinburgh International Book Festival. We were impressed by the reaction of the audience to the adaptation, so much so that when I was conceiving the Theatre's programme this year, I thought back to that audience and felt it would be a delightful offering to our Pitlochry audiences this year. Safe to say the combination of Charlotte Higgins and David Greig offers an insightful, thoughtful, and witty piece which, I have no doubt, will offer audiences new insight into our Roman history as well as a playful peak into a past that is almost unimaginable. Amelia Donkor and Keith Macpherson become Charlotte and Matthew on their van tour. The energy and warmth of both actors certainly guarantees a good night out in our Amphitheatre this year."

Charlotte Higgins's Under Another Sky: Journeys in Roman Britain, was shortlisted for awards including the Samuel Johnson (now Baillie Gifford) Prize for non-fiction and Red Thread: On Mazes and Labyrinths, a Radio 4 Book of the Week and winner of the Arnold Bennett Prize 2019. Her most recent book is Greek Myths: A New Retelling, which was shortlisted for the Waterstones Book of the Year 2021. She is chief culture writer of the Guardian, a past winner of the Classical Association prize and a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries.

Charlotte Higgins said

" I couldn't be more delighted that Under Another Sky will have fresh new life through the imaginations of David Greig and Elizabeth Newman - and in the richly storied landscape of Perthshire, where Romans once marched."

Under Another Sky's cast will feature Amelia Donkor (As You Like It and The Taming of the Shrew at the Royal Shakespeare Company and Eastenders, BBC) as Charlotte and Keith Macpherson (The Yellow Door, Lyceum/ Edinburgh International Book Festival, Waiting for Godot, Citizens Theatre and Stan and Ollie, BBC Films) as Matthew.

Under Another Sky is directed and designed by Elizbeth Newman with lighting by Jeanine Byrne, sound by Ben Occhipinti, music by Laura Rossi, and movement directed by Lesley Hutchison.

The new play was originally commissioned by the Royal Lyceum Theatre and Edinburgh International Book Festival as part of the festival's Playing with Books strand in 2019.

Under Another Sky runs from 10 August - 23 September. Tickets are available from the box office on 01796 484626 or online at pitlochryfestivaltheatre.com

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