Alan Cumming Will Host Fundraising Event For Pitlochry Festival Theatre

Pitlochry Festival Theatre's Artistic Director Alan Cumming will host a fundraising event for the Theatre on Sunday 28 September, when he spends an entertaining evening in conversation with sports pundits Tam Cowan and Stuart Cosgrove, celebrating over 30 years of Scotland's best loved (and self-proclaimed worst informed) football radio show, BBC Radio Scotland's Off the Ball.

Whether you are a football fan or a Theatre lover, join Alan as he delves into the history of this dynamic duo, and their unique style of football punditry which has brought joy each week to football fans across Scotland. The conversation will be followed by the chance for audience members to ask their own questions to Tam and Stuart.

Pitlochry Festival Theatre's Artistic Director Alan Cumming said, “I am a huge fan of Off the Ball even though I know and have very little interest in football.  I guested on the show once (and can't wait to again, hint hint), and my big brother - who is a football nut and was I think rather jealous of my proximity to Scotland's fitba royalty - said ‘you just giggled the whole time'. And he was right. Tam and Stuart are hilarious, irreverent, and even just the timbre of their voices and their vocabulary make me howl with laughter and I could listen to them all day. This fundraiser is a beautiful gesture by them to support me and my plans for my first season of work at Pitlochry Festival Theatre and a great chance for everyone who loves football and comedy to witness, in the flesh, these petty and ill-informed football titans!”

Tam Cowan added, “I first suggested doing this fundraiser for the theatre when Alan Cumming was appointed artistic director as he's been a great friend of Off the Ball with numerous plugs for the programme on both sides of the Atlantic. Me and Stuart appreciate the support (it's not every day a James Bond baddie praises your work!) and, to reciprocate, I thought the least we could do was put on a wee freebie at Pitlochry Festival Theatre, just a few miles from where Stuart was born and bred. We're really looking forward to a no-holds-barred petty & ill-informed evening of stories, jokes and memories - and we might even spill a few Off the Ball secrets for the punters who donate a few quid extra by splashing out on a VIP meet 'n' greet ticket...”

An Evening with Off the Ball's Tam Cowan and Stuart Cosgrove is scheduled as the first in a series of In Conversation fundraising events to be held at the Theatre over the next year. These events will bring in much needed funds for the Theatre, a charity, which produces work here in Pitlochry at its on-site workshop and rehearsal rooms. The funds from the evening will go to support the Theatre's 2026 programme, which will be Alan Cumming's first season of programming as Artistic Director, as well as the Theatre's 75th Anniversary Season. Further In Conversation events will be announced in the coming months.