Review: I Can Die Too at Pitlochry Festival Theatre | Frances Ruffelle is sublime

I Can Die Too plays at Pitlochry Festival Theatre until 2nd August. Read my review below.

Frances Ruffelle and the cast of I Can Die Too. Photo: Tommy Ga-Ken Wan

I Can Die Too ★★★★☆

Review: 16 July 2026 | Pitlochry Festival Theatre (Studio)

I Can Die Too is advertised as 'a play with music', but it could just as easily be billed as 'musical theatre', a chamber musical or 'gig theatre'. The creative team at Pitlochry Festival Theatre have torn up the rulebook with this one, creating a vehicle for the extraordinary talents of West End star Frances Ruffelle and, like the best avant-garde theatre, just lets the show be what it wants to be: an entertaining piece of theatre, full of bright energy and very catchy songs.

With a book by Ruffelle, award-winning actress Sally George, and Pitlochry Festival Theatre's Artistic Director Alan Cumming, I Can Die Too focuses on Llly (Frances Ruffelle), an actor rehearsing the lead role in Jean Cocteau's stage play La Voix humaine (The Human Voice).

Cocteau's famous early 20th-century drama follows a lone woman, on stage, speaking to an unseen man via the telephone for an hour. And I Can Die Too opens in the same manner. A sultry Ruffelle, all red dress and smudged mascara, sprawls on Simon Kenny's raised central platform (which doubles as her unmade bed) as telephone handsets dangle above her head. It's a striking, modern and playful design that draws us into the intimate conversation happening on stage.

It's obvious from Lily's side of the telephone exchange that her beau is about to marry someone else. But before we can learn more, Lily calls a halt to proceedings and "Director" James (Stephen Ashfield) and "Stage Manager" Georgie (Flora Spencer-Longhurst) arrive on set to deal with the disruption.

From there, I Can Die Too becomes a backstage drama as we realise we are watching the chaotic tech rehearsals for a play within a play. Lily frequently calls a halt to rehearsals as she struggles with Cocteau's script, the direction, and the tricky French accent. It's all beautifully messy and meta as we watch the pseudo production team wrangle to keep their show on track while their lead actress crumbles before their (and our) eyes.

The cast of I Can Die Too at Pitlochry Festival Theatre. Photo: Tommy Ga-Ken Wan

The title of this play comes from Jean Cocteau reportedly saying, on hearing that his good friend Edith Piaf had died, "La Piaf est morte. Je Peux mourir aussi" (Piaf is dead. I can die too). And he did, on the very same day, mere hours after hearing the news.

Dark humour runs through director Bill Buckhurst's one-act, 75-minute play, and it veers in directions I didn't expect. There is definitely more to the story than first appears, and it all comes together well. But it's the music that's the strongest element of the show.

The energy in Pitlochry Festival Theatre's gorgeous studio space ramps up a gear as the sensational first song Be Happy gets underway. This is where the gig element of 'gig theatre' makes its entrance, and as the driving, rhythmic synth music soars in the auditorium, a curtain falls away to reveal scaffolding, the actor-musicians and on-stage Musical Director Frew, it's like an electrifying, underground concert. I'm a sucker for well-timed lighting effects, and the flashes of neon pink here in time to the thumping electro pop beats of the rocky pop song are exhilarating.

The music and lyrics throughout the play are varied and universally excellent. Credited to eleven separate writers, including Frances Ruffelle, it's all brought to life by the multitalented, five-strong cast who play all of the instruments live on stage with Frew. I've never wanted a cast recording from a "play" before, but I adored every note of this.

If I Can Die Too was written as a vehicle for Frances Ruffelle; well, she drives it with style. Her funny yet poignant portrayal of a woman going through a breakdown in real time, as her personal life crashes into he professional one, is sublime. It's absolutely worth a pilgrimage to Pitlochry to see her in this intimate production, and she's supported by a brilliant cast, with Stephen Ashfield and Flora Spencer-Longhurst particularly strong. ★★★★☆

See I Can Die Too at Pitlochry Festival Theatre until 2nd August.

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Also currently playing at Pitlochry Festival Theatre, Lear. Read my review here https://www.lisainthetheatre.com/post/pitlochry-lear-review