ALAN Cumming is set to host a fundraising event with hosts of BBC radio show Off the Ball to raise money for a Highlands theatre.
Cumming, the artistic director for Pitlochry Festival Theatre, will be joined by Tam Cowan and Stuart Cosgrove for the first of several In Conversation events held in the venue over the coming year.
Proceeds from An Evening with Off the Ball’s Tam Cowan and Stuart Cosgrove –a former columnist for the Sunday National – and the unannounced In Conversation shows will be used to support the charity theatre’s 2026 programme, which will be Cumming’s first since he officially took on the director role in January.
“I am a huge fan of Off the Ball even though I know and have very little interest in football”, the actor said.
“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 (below) 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.
The fundraiser will take place on Sunday, September 28 in the Pitlochry Festival Theatre at 7pm and is part of a wider network of events celebrating the theatre’s 75th anniversary.
Cowan said: “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 and 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 and greet ticket.”
Tickets cost £25 and are available via the theatre box office on 01796 484626 or via their website.
VIP meet and greet upgrades, which entitles ticketholders to pre-show food and drinks with the hosts, are priced at £50.
