Alan Cumming and Shirley Henderson in A History of Paper. Picture: Tommy Ga-Ken Wan
Pitlochry Festival Theatre and Dundee Rep Theatre’s critically acclaimed sold-out production of the MTR Award-winning musical A History of Paper will receive its US premiere in New York early next year.
Featuring the BAFTA and Olivier Award-winning stage and screen stars Alan Cumming and Shirley Henderson, the new staging of Oliver Emanuel and Gareth Williams’ love story made its debut at the two Scottish venues in the summer.
Directed by Dundee Rep’s award-winning artistic director Andrew Panton, the production will arrive on the other side of the Atlantic with both stars reprising their acclaimed performances. The first production from Pitlochry Festival Theatre and Dundee Rep Theatre to transfer Off-Broadway will play a strictly limited season at the Shubert Organization’s Stage 42 from 12 February to 16 May 2027.
Commenting on the production’s US debut, Cumming said: “I am so thrilled to bring A History of Paper from my home country of Scotland to my adopted home in New York City. This is one of these rare shows that transcends its own story and manages to touch an audience in a really visceral and beautiful way. And it utterly belongs in New York City. Since taking over as artistic director at Pitlochry Festival Theatre it has been my plan (and dream) to start a theatrical exchange channel between Manhattan and our theatre in the hills. This is the first show to do so and I couldn’t be happier to be doing it alongside Shirley, who I first worked with over 40 years ago!”
Henderson added: “When Alan whispered backstage to me that we might be taking our show A History of Paper to New York, my heart skipped a beat. In that moment, I felt excited, a little scared but happy to be holding hands with Alan as we take this beautiful piece of writing with sweet music on the next part of its journey. I never imagined it was possible to have the opportunity to step onto the New York stage. I am glad it’s with my lovely friend Alan Cumming.”
Panton commented: “Creating this show with Alan, Shirley and our amazing creative team has been a dream. Some stories ask us to lean a little closer. A History of Paper is one of them – the story of one relationship quietly becoming about all of us: the people who shape our lives, the memories we hold on to, and the ordinary moments we come to treasure most. The work I’ve seen in New York has long inspired me to make theatre, and to see work developed at Dundee Rep reach international audiences is a powerful reminder of why we invest in new work and the artists who create it. I couldn’t be more excited to bring our beautiful show to New York City audiences.”
While Tony Award winner Cumming has appeared on and off Broadway numerous times, the production will mark Henderson’s New York stage debut.
The creative team for the production also includes designer Ana Inés Jabares Pita, lighting designer Bruno Poet, sound designer Alexandra Faye Braithwaite and musical supervisor/director Gavin Whitworth.
Charting the progress of a relationship between a man and a woman through the little bits of paper left behind – every ticket, letter, menu, and shopping list – A History of Paper started life as an original radio play, written by Oliver Emanuel, and first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2017. Emanuel, who sadly passed away in 2023, worked with composer Gareth Williams to turn his acclaimed original work into a stage musical.
Originally commissioned and developed by Dundee Rep Theatre, A History of Paper premiered at the Traverse Theatre as part of TravFest 24 at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2024. The production won the Musical Theatre Review Best Musical Award, the Fringe First Award and a Best Director Award at the Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland (CATS) for director Andrew Panton.
A History of Paper will be presented in a co-production with producers Sonia Friedman Productions, Jerry Goehring and Pemberley Productions.
Angela Thomas
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