<\/p>\n
Sir Ian McKellen<\/a> is on stage blowing up a red balloon. For a man of 86, he has impressive lung capacity. He lets it go and watches it take a satisfyingly theatrical trajectory, rising to a height, then plummeting. \u201cFree the spirit,\u201d he says, in character as Ed, an elderly gay man searching for release.<\/p>\n There was a lot of spirit-freeing over the weekend at Pitlochry Festival theatre<\/a>. In a bold pre-season move by new artistic director Alan Cumming<\/a>, the UK\u2019s most idyllic venue launched its first LGBTQ+ festival in an atmosphere of exuberance. Programmed by Lewis Hetherington, Out in the Hills was a three-day compendium of talks, scratch performances and workshops that turned a sedate theatre into a buzzy social hive.<\/p>\n I arrived as the audience for Coinneach MacLeod, AKA the Hebridean Baker<\/a>, was spilling out. A large and colourful group were posing for a picture in the foyer, while queues squeezed past for the bar. Many were on a high after the previous night\u2019s Queer As Folk! ceilidh, led by the Malin Lewis Trio<\/a>. Others were anticipating Sunday afternoon\u2019s conversation between trans playwright Jo Clifford and her daughter Catriona Innes. I failed to find anyone who had done Finlay Wilson\u2019s Kilted Yoga, but it was a thing.<\/p>\n