Pitlochry Festival Theatre to premiere new outdoor staging of Around the World in 80 Days
A new outdoor staging of Around the World in 80 Days is to open at Pitlochry Festival Theatre this summer.
Mark Powell’s adaptation of Jules Verne’s novel will run from 8 July to 17 September 2022, directed by Elizabeth Newman and Ben Occhipinti.
Powell, who previously adapted The Wind in the Willows for the venue, said: “I had a wonderful time last year reviving Mr Toad and his companions for a modern audience. I am really excited to bring Phileas Fogg and friends to life in the coming months. There is a great freedom in Verne’s madcap mission and an equally great challenge to give any Victorian values a dramatic dust-down.
“It was a joy being part of audiences of all ages on Pitlochry’s lawn last summer. As a playwright, it is a treat seeing pictures and people you never thought of when creating a new world and when the work is outdoors you see so much more than your brain ever conceived. I’m looking forward to feeling the same surprising sense of creativity and communion on the riverbank in 2022.”
When up-tight Victorian gentleman Phileas Fogg agrees to take a globe-trotting gamble, he puts both his fortune and his life on the line. Grab your passport and join the fearless adventurer and his faithful servant as they encounter a kaleidoscope of colourful characters and exotic animals on their madcap adventure around the world on a race to beat the clock.
On the cast are Richard Colvin (Sunshine on Leith, UK tour) as Phileas Fogg; Nalân Burgess (Welcome to Iran, Royal National Theatre and Theatre Royal Stratford East and the forthcoming The Sandman, Warner Brothers and DC Comics) as Grandmother, Egyptian Officer, Mother Superior, Aouda; Marc Small (Barefoot in the Park, Pitlochry Festival Theatre; Richard II , Almeida Theatre and the TV series The IT Crowd and Emmerdale) as Brown, Kinnar, Butch Cassidy and Captain Cassidy); Rhiane Drummond (Dreamgirls and 9-5 The Musical, both Savoy Theatre and Heathers, UK Tour) as Queen Victoria; Connor Going (Footloose, UK tour) as Robert and Bertie; Blythe Jandoo (Wizard of Oz, Sheffield Crucible and the films Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast, Walt Disney Pictures) as Jean; James Hudson (Saturday Night Fever, West End/UK) as Arthur and Jessica Brydges (Peter Pan, Maltings Theatre) as Calamity Jane.
Co-directed by Pitlochry Festival Theatre’s Artistic Director, Elizabeth Newman (Adventures with the Painted People and Faith Healer, Pitlochry Festival Theatre) and Associate Director, Ben Occhipinti (Blonde Bombshells of 1943 and Summer Holiday, Pitlochry Festival Theatre), Around the World in 80 Days promises to be a real treat for all the family this summer.
For more information and tickets, visit pitlochryfestivaltheatre.com
