When Kirsty Findlay finishes up playing the lead role in The Sound Of Music at Pitlochry Festival Theatre in late December, it will be the end of a very special year for this Glasgow-based actress. Prior to becoming the solution to the problem of Maria, Findlay appeared in three Pitlochry productions over the Perthshire theatre’s summer season.

While she shone in both Sense And Sensibility as Elinor, and as small-town bad girl Ariel in Footloose, it was her magnificent embodiment of singer/songwriter Carole King in Beautiful that showed off her full range as actress, singer and musician. Findlay was on stage throughout in Sam Hardie’s production of Douglas McGrath’s play, and despite playing piano in front of an audience for the first time ever, rarely has an actor looked so at ease with what she was doing in a bravura performance that might just be the best of 2024.

‘I never thought in a million years I would get to do all the shows I’ve done over a season,’ Findlay says, catching her breath between rehearsals, ‘but doing Beautiful and The Sound Of Music back-to-back is just a total dream. Beautiful was just one of those shows where it felt like the stars aligned. I’m the right age and I’ve got the right type of voice to be able to sing Carole King, but I never thought I’d get it.’

Beautiful’s title song has an extra resonance for Findlay, whose singer mum and drummer dad played in a band on the club circuit. Findlay’s mum even appeared on 1970s and 80s TV talent show New Faces. ‘She sang “Beautiful” on TV,’ a proud Findlay recalls. ‘She’s retired now, but she’s this incredible singer. We sound quite different, but when I first learned that I’d got that part, because that specific song means so much to me, it was this huge full-circle moment. The fact that it was the final song in the show and that my mum had sung it was just pure magic.’

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