Pitlochry Festival Theatre has announced the premiere of its new production of Lear, a fresh stage adaptation of William Shakespeare’s classic tragedy directed and adapted by Finn den Hertog.
The production will run from 4 July to 1 August at Pitlochry Festival Theatre, marking the first time the venue has staged Lear in its 75-year history.
Scottish theatre legend Maureen Beattie will take on the title role, reimagined as a woman, in a story that explores power, legacy and family as a mother’s decision to test her daughters’ love leads to personal and political collapse.
The cast will also include Forbes Masson, with further casting to be announced.
The production is directed and adapted by Finn den Hertog, whose recent work includes The Fifth Step for National Theatre of Scotland, and is part of Alan Cumming’s inaugural season as Artistic Director during the theatre’s anniversary year.
The creative team includes designer Emma Bailey, lighting designer Kai Fischer, movement director Vicki Manderson, composer and sound designer Mark Melville featuring music by Brìghde Chaimbeul, fight and intimacy director Robin Helier and voice coach Jean Sangster. Casting is by Simone Pereira Hind CDG and Anna Dawson CDG for PHD Casting.
Maureen Beattie said: “I was absolutely thrilled when Alan asked me to come to Pitlochry to play Lear. I am humbled and grateful in equal measure to be entrusted with this great role in what many people believe is not just Shakespeare’s greatest play, but one of the greatest works of literature ever written. No pressure! I cannot wait to get into the rehearsal room with our brilliant director, Finn den Hertog, and bring this fabulous play to life.”
Director Finn den Hertog added: “Maureen Beattie is an actor I have known and admired for a long time and in many ways, this feels like the part she was born to play. Her combination of power and fragility, her command of Shakespeare’s text and her towering presence on stage all make her the ideal fit for the tragic monarch.
In reimagining Lear as a woman, we have also reimagined the world of Shakespeare’s play: we find ourselves in a contemporary world of fiercely ambitious women battling for ultimate power; yet all the same time, we are never far from the mythic, ancient landscape that is so richly drawn in the original. Our Lear is an aging matriarch; a mother losing her grip on her reality and her family. They, and in turn we, are confronted with questions of how any family deals with the ultimate tragedy of age, illness and loss of identity.
I am also thrilled to be working once again with designer Emma Bailey, with whom I created Sunset Song in 2024. I truly cannot wait for Emma’s incredible theatrical imagination to be unleashed on this project, along with what is shaping up to be an outstanding cast and creative team. I’m confident audiences at Pitlochry are in for something really special.”
Lear runs at Pitlochry Festival Theatre from 4 July to 1 August, with press performances on Thursday 9 July at 2pm and 7.30pm.
Listings and ticket information can be found here.
