Pitlochry Festival Theatre Awarded Prestigious New Writing Commission

Pitlochry Festival Theatre has been chosen as one of just five venues across the UK to be awarded a prestigious writing commission for 2024. 

The Peter Shaffer Commissions are awarded by The National Theatre in partnership with the Peter Shaffer Foundation and support playwrights as they create large scale plays. The commissioning of this production was supported by the Sir Peter Shaffer Charitable Foundation. 

Pitlochry Festival Theatre is one of the commission recipients following their submission to work with the award-winning Glasgow based playwright May Sumbwanyambe on his new play The Illegitimate Offspring of the Mad Bull. Pitlochry Festival Theatre previously worked with May on the critically acclaimed award-winning play Enough of Him, which was produced alongside the National Theatre of Scotland and premiered in Pitlochry in 2022. The production went on to win several awards at the Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland. 

Since 2021, The National Theatre has partnered with the Sir Peter Shaffer Charitable Foundation in committing to supporting playwrights. Celebrating the life and career of the celebrated playwright and screenwriter Sir Peter Shaffer, this partnership will continue his desire to support playwrights as they create larger scale plays. 

Awarding a total of seven commissions each year for playwrights from across the UK, The National Theatre works closely with regional companies and theatres to identify future talent. Of the seven commissions each year, two are given for plays being developed by The National Theatre and five are an open call to theatres and companies from across the UK. All commissions are for original plays (not adaptations) with more than three characters. 

On being selected for the commission, playwright May Sumbwanyambe said, “Pitlochry Festival Theatre has been a hugely significant theatre for me. Under the artistic direction of Elizabeth Newman, it’s always felt like a place where artists can tell important stories. I made my debut in Scotland at Pitlochry Festival Theatre and that award-winning production has opened many doors. Everything I wanted to say about slavery could never have been covered in just one play, so this vital opportunity to continue my work as “one of the key creative figures in Scotland’s increasingly determined effort to come to terms with its own colonial past, and particularly with Scottish involvement in slavery and the slave trade”, feels hugely exciting.” 

Elizabeth Newman, Artistic Director at Pitlochry Festival Theatre added, “We are absolutely thrilled and deeply honoured that May Sumbwanyambe will be writing a new play for Pitlochry Festival Theatre, made possible by the prestigious National Theatre’s Peter Shaffer Commission. This recognition is a testament to May's exceptional talent and his ability to create stories that are not only deeply compelling but also profoundly relevant. His work resonates with our audiences on a powerful level, and we are eagerly looking forward to the extraordinary production that will emerge from this collaboration. At Pitlochry Festival Theatre, we are committed to fostering innovative and bold voices in Scotland, and commissioning May's next new play is a true privilege.”