The High Life The Musical at the Festival Theatre Edinburgh*****

Alan Cumming is the brightest star in the firmament! His multi-award-winning career has seen him do everything from starring in London’s West End, on Broadway, in Marvel films, and in long-running American TV series, to running a New York nightclub, writing books which exude warmth, honesty and humour, to hosting the BAFTAs – and being a fashion icon! His most recent achievement is putting the Perthshire town of Pitlochry firmly at the centre of theatre in Scotland. His opening season as artistic director of Pitlochry Festival Theatre has everyone excited – at a press night in London late last year that was all anyone was talking about in the bar at the interval and I felt so smug knowing that I was already booked to review most of the shows up until next November!

But, back in 1995 he, and his life-long pal Forbes Masson, were already making headlines, firstly as Victor and Barry, who then became Sebastian Flight and Steve McCracken, in their self-penned BBC2 comedy series The High Life. It attracted a cult following and, if the opening night audience of its Scottish tour is anything to go by, their fans have remained faithful. There were cheers aplenty as the two donned their flight attendants’ uniforms once more to take us on the trip of a lifetime aboard Air Scotia Flight 123, with lots of uplifting songs to enjoy.

This time round panto superstar Johnny McKnight has joined them on the writing team (and, yes, there are elements of panto!) and while it is littered with in-jokes that only High Life fans and, indeed, Scots, might understand, there is plenty of topical material and even a nod to the Traitors, which Cumming hosts in America. Having said that, I came away dizzy with an overload of uproariously, hilarious fun. I can’t imagine how Cumming, Masson and their enthusiastic cast keep to the confines of their script, but under Andrew Panton’s direction, although they appear to be just going crazy, and totally out of control, they do stick to a story which involves the plane crashing off the Fife coast, a weird guest house, and Steve’s reunion with his long lost love, all to the huge enjoyment of the audience.

We already know that Cumming has a disarming sense of humour but it was an education to see Masson, whom I’ve previously only seen as Jekyll and Hyde and in the heartbreaking Laughing Boy, being silly.

High Life fans are also treated to the two other original members of the BBC cast, Patrick Ryecart and Siobhan Redmond. Ryecart, in particular, is hysterical as the flight captain who wanders around the stage seemingly having lost his marbles! Since both have had such distinguished acting careers I wonder how they have liked returning to such wackiness!

Praise too goes to the rest of the hard-working cast, especially Kyle Gardiner whose changing personality as Mylie is something to behold, and Louise McCarthy whose death scene, as Heather, is the longest and funniest I have ever seen.

Image: Tommy Ga-Ken Wan

The High Life The Musical is at the Festival Theatre Edinburgh until Apr 11

capitaltheatres.com

It then continues touring: 

Apr 14-18: His Majesty’s Theatre Aberdeen

Apr 29-May 2: Eden Court Inverness

May 6-9: Dundee Rep

May 12-23: Kings Theatre Glasgow