Slàinte mhath to another dram of ‘‘Whisky Galore - A Musical!’

Jul 29 2011 by Alison Anderson, Perthshire Advertiser Friday

PITLOCHRY Festival Theatre is reprising its highly-successful ‘Whisky Galore - A Musical!’ for its first ever autumn production.

When it premiered at PFT’s summer season in 2009, this ground-breaking, critically-acclaimed musical attracted visitors from throughout the UK and overseas. It went on to smash all previous PFT box office records, which have not been beaten since.

“That made it the perfect choice as our first autumn production in this, our 60th anniversary year,” commented John Durnin, PFT’s chief executive and artistic director.

“Having introduced an entirely new development in 2010 – our first Christmas production – this special anniversary year seemed the ideal time to roll out the next addition to the PFT programme: a stand-alone, crowd-pleasing production to brighten up the autumn evenings.

“And in these challenging times, when there seems to be very little to smile about, what could be better than a chance to enjoy again one of the funniest, most heart-warming new musicals that Scottish theatre has ever produced?”

John continued: “Pitlochry Festival Theatre was founded back in 1951 by John Stewart as a gift to his native land, so perhaps more than any other Scottish theatre, PFT belongs to the people of Scotland. In turn, Whisky Galore - A Musical! was PFT’s gift to Scotland for the Year of Homecoming in 2009.

“And such was its success, with regular ‘House Full’ signs and all performances sold out over six weeks before the end of the season, that barely a week has since gone by without somebody asking me ‘When are you going to be doing Whisky Galore again?’

“Well, the wait is over. It‘s coming back!”

With a score which conjures up both the 1940s and the unmistakable sounds of the Western Isles, this celebrated adaptation of Compton Mackenzie‘s marvellous novel of island life (performed by a highly talented cast of actor-musicians, many of whom are returning from the original production) will run from Friday, October 21, to Saturday, November 12.

Full performance details and tickets from the PFT box office on 01796 484626 or online at www.PitlochryFestivalTheatre.com

l What PA Arts editor Alison Anderson had to say about ‘Whisky Galore - A Musical!’ in 2009: “... this imaginative re-working of Compton MacKenzie’s funny, romantic and hugely entertaining novel does provide the feel-good factor by the tonne, from curtain up to curtain fall” and “ ... Whisky Galore – A Musical! is a class act from both the production and performance perspective.”