The decision by Pitlochry Festival Theatre and its assorted producing partners not to allow critics to review brand new musical, Ceilidh, during its Pitlochry run is a strange and baffling affair. As already highlighted by Brian Ferguson in The Herald, the new show by Scott Gilmour and Claire McKenzie, aka Noisemaker, about Scotland’s ceilidh culture was originally announced to open in September on PFT’s main stage.

A press night was set for October 1. This was later moved without notice to Pitlochry Town Hall for an October run, with press invited on October 10. London dates and a tour of Scotland’s cities follow. For critics with an already packed schedule of theatre openings, the goalposts being shifted in such a way may have been irritating, but was manageable.

Then came last week’s declaration that no reviews of Ceilidh would be allowed during its Pitlochry run. This was tempered by the offer of an all-expenses-paid trip to London to review Ceilidh at Shoreditch Town Hall. This decision by producers that include Trafalgar Theatre Productions to have a show being hyped for its celebration of Scottish culture shut out the country’s critical fraternity on its doorstep not only does a disservice to the critics. It also arguably short-changes the local audience who form much of Pitlochry Festival Theatre’s immediate constituency.

If the PFT run of........

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