The brand new musical based on cult TV comedy series The High Life has dropped a first-listen!
After a (very) lengthy delay in departures of over 30 years, all four of the original TV cast, Alan Cumming, Forbes Masson, Siobhan Redmond and Patrick Ryecart, are back on board for this brand new musical.
Playing their original characters of Sebastian Flight, Steve McCracken, Shona Spurtle and Captain Hilary Duff, The High Life – The Musical is set to tour Scotland in Spring 2026 as part of the National Theatre of Scotland’s 20th anniversary programme in 2026.
First-listen: The High Life Musical
The HighLife tour will start at the Dundee Rep Theatre on 27 March to 4 April 2026, and then Festival Theatre Edinburgh (7 – 11 April), His Majesty’s Theatre Aberdeen (14 – 18 April), Eden Court Inverness (29 April – 2 May) and King’s Theatre Glasgow (12 – 23 May).
There’s no current news about a tour to other British regions, or a West End run – but we have high hopes!
The High Life is a creative collaboration between multi-award-winning actor and creator Alan Cumming (US Traitors, X2 and Avengers: Doomsday, Cabaret on Broadway) and his long-time writing and performing partner, stage and screen actor and writer Forbes Masson (Jamie Lloyd’s production of The Tempest, Farm Hall, Only Child, The Crown, EastEnders).
The show’s story, script and lyrics are by Alan Cumming, Forbes Masson and Johnny McKnight (Wendy Hoose, Radiant Vermin, River City), with original music by Forbes Masson, and additional music by Alan Cumming.
The director is award-winning Artistic Director of Dundee Rep, Andrew Panton (August: Osage County, No Love Songs, A History of Paper). Andrew Panton is also directing James Graham’s new play Make It Happen this summer starring Brian Cox.
Joining Andrew Panton in the creative team are set and costume designer Colin Richmond, choreographer Emily Jane Boyle, musical supervisor Sarah Travis, and lighting designer Grant Anderson.
Taking place in the fictional Air Scotia airline, The High Life centres on air stewards Steve, Sebastian and Shona – the most useless cabin crew ever to push a drinks trolley while asking ‘U Fur Coffee?”.
In the new The High Life musical, Air Scotia has been sold, and unless our intrepid cabin crew can prove they’re still fit for purpose it looks like the future destination for Air Scotia is the scrap heap. In this flight for their lives, our cut-price cabin crew must get themselves (and their passengers) to their destination safely, testing their mettle and putting decades old friendships and rivalries finally to rest.
The High Life was first commissioned and broadcast by the BBC in 1994, created by and featuring Alan Cumming and Forbes Masson. The TV series is available on BBC iPlayer.
More about tickets for The High Life – The Musical
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