Casting has been announced today for the long-awaited stage premiere of David Greig’s new play, Adventures with the Painted People, which opens at Pitlochry Festival Theatre from 10 June-4 July 2021, as part of their exciting outdoor summer season.

This much-anticipated play will star two extraordinary Scottish talents: Nicholas Karimi (The Twilight Zone, Almeida, and West End; Macbeth, National Theatre; The Kite Runner, Nottingham Playhouse and West End and James II, National Theatre of Scotland) in the role of Lucius, and Kirsty Stuart (Faith Healer, Pitlochry Festival Theatre, The Duchess [Of Malfi], Royal Lyceum Edinburgh and Citizens Theatre, Call the Midwife, BBC and Shetland, ITV) as Eithne.  

Performed in the theatre’s outdoor amphitheatre, with the stunning Perthshire hills as a backdrop, Adventures with the Painted People is a compelling love story, exploring the value of the lessons of history and the power of writing. Lucius is a cultured Roman officer, captured by the Picts and about to be sacrificed. Eithne is a wise Pictish woman, who wants to record her people's history in writing, a skill they do not yet have. She makes a deal - she will rescue Lucius, in exchange for him teaching her to write. So, they must flee - not by road, the Romans have not built those yet, but down river...

Adventures with the Painted People was originally commissioned by the venue as part of the ‘Shades of Tay’ project and was set to receive its stage premiere in July 2020. As this was unable to happen due to the pandemic, it subsequently became an acclaimed BBC Radio 3 play in June last year, as part of BBC Arts Culture in Quarantine series.

Adventures with the Painted People is directed by award-winning director Elizabeth Newman (Faith Healer, Pitlochry Festival Theatre), with lighting design by Jeanine Byrne (Faith Healer, Pitlochry Festival Theatre), and music and sound design by Ben Occhipinti (Barefoot in the Park, Pitlochry Festival Theatre). 

For tickets and further information, please click here.