Ian McKellen, Graham Norton and Alan Cumming at Pitlochry's Out in the Hills

Sir Ian McKellen, Graham Norton and artistic director Alan Cumming took part in Out in the Hills, the first LGBTQ+ festival staged at Pitlochry Festival theatre in Scotland, launched as a bold pre-season move by Cumming. McKellen gave a rehearsed reading of Equinox, a new monologue by Laurie Slade, playing Ed, an elderly gay man.

The article describes a theatrical moment in which McKellen blew up a red balloon and let it go, saying “Free the spirit,” and later pleading, “Be slow to judgment,” as the monologue touched on themes including Freud, the Oedipus complex, abandonment and a relationship with a younger man.

The reading was directed by Sean Mathias. Cumming and Norton followed with a conversational event that mixed humour and discussion. Cumming wore a shirt reading “Ae fond pish” and ankle boots from the set of The Traitors US; Norton, wearing a zebra-striped fleece, said he loved “that there’s this big gay thing in the middle of Scotland.” The conversation ranged into homophobia, representation and rights, and Norton was applauded for his condemnation of conversion therapy.

McKellen also sat in the audience for that event. Programmed by Lewis Hetherington, Out in the Hills was described as a three-day compendium of talks, scratch performances and workshops that turned the theatre into a buzzy social hive, with events including a Queer As Folk! ceilidh and appearances by figures such as Coinneach MacLeod.

Key Topics

Culture, Pitlochry Festival Theatre, Ian Mckellen, Alan Cumming, Graham Norton, Equinox