Review: I'll Be Seeing You, Pitlochry Festival Theatre
Pitlochry Festival Theatre hosts the world premiere of Martin Sherman's new play I'll Be Seeing You starring Simon Russell Beale and Fra Fee. Read my review below.
I'll Be Seeing You ★★★☆☆
Review: 26 September 2026 | Pitlochry Festival Theatre
Lauded American playwright Martin Sherman (writer of the groundbreaking 1979 play Bent) has chosen a theatre in the Scottish Highlands for the world premiere of his latest work, I'll Be Seeing You.
Not only does Pitlochry Festival Theatre have its Artistic Director, Alan Cumming and Associate Director Ben Occhipinti in the directors' chairs, but they have accomplished stars of stage and screen Simon Russell Beale and Fra Fee leading the cast.
To set expectations from the start: I'll Be Seeing You is not a play about Liberace. It's a play about a playwright who has been commissioned to write a play about Liberace. And although the playwright hates Liberace and everything he stands for (he sees him as a closeted gay man who lies to his fans), he needs the money, so he takes the commission anyway.
Sherman's new play begins with the young playwright (mesmerising Northern Irish actor Fra Fee) explaining this premise to the Pitlochry Festival Theatre audience. But as he sets out his predicament from the interior of his murky living room, the American pianist and flamboyant entertainer Liberace (a resplendent Simon Russell Beale) swoops in bedecked in dazzling white feathers and sequins.
And this is how the play continues for a while. Fra Fee's writer has ideas about how he wants his play to go, but in a touch of gloriously surreal theatricality, Liberace intrudes and challenges him at every turn.
It sounds like loads of fun, and at times, it is, but it's also a frustrating play that doesn't go anywhere for 70 of the 80-minute runtime. For those hoping to learn more about the outrageous Liberace and what made him who he is, it doesn't tell us much about him either. (There's a joke that the audience should Google him.)
There are brief moments of song in I'll Be Seeing You, but it's also not a musical. From the snippets of music we do hear from the brilliant Simon Russell Beale as he plays the one-time "highest paid entertainer in the world", his singing voice is beautiful. His final, heartbreaking rendition of the title track, I'll Be Seeing You is stunning in what is the most powerful scene of the play.
Fascinating premise
So if I'll Be Seeing You isn't a musical and isn't a biopic, what is it? It's a strange play that doesn't fully convince as a comedy nor as a drama. The integration of sitcom-esque canned laughter and sexual innuendo - although reflective of the 50s and 60s when Liberace was at the height of his fame - soon grows tiresome.
The driver of the writer's extreme dislike for Liberace and the crux of the play is the infamous 1959 libel case in which Liberace sued the Daily Mirror newspaper for implying that he was gay - and won! The offending Mirror article was truly vicious - you can Google it - describing the entertainer as 'mincing' and 'fruit-flavoured', among other slurs. But when Liberace denied being homosexual under oath, the jury believed him and the article was ruled as defamatory.
As an openly gay man, the writer sees this as a betrayal. It's such a fascinating premise for a long-standing grudge, but there is an opportunity for it, for Liberace's motivations, and for the writer's distress, to be explored further within the play to heighten the drama and tension.
Mr Showmanship
Liberace is supported throughout the show by two boys in sparkling hot pants (the excellent Ali Watt and Adam Kashmiry) who bring sass and fabulous dance skills to the production thanks to Chris Stuart Wilson's playful choreography. Anne Lacey has a lovely scene as "mother", while Fra Fee is superb as the charming writer; his stage presence and warm, natural rapport with the audience a delight to behold.
Simon Russell Beale is majestic as Liberace and looks like he's having the time of his life, camping it up in an ever-changing wardrobe of glitzy costumes. Liberace's costumes are the visual highlight of the production. A myriad of tantalisingly ostentatious delights worthy of the self-proclaimed "Mr Showmanship."
Despite all the glitz and magnificent performances, I'll Be Seeing You is let down by a static narrative arc that prevents the piece from fully coming alive. But there is a beautifully poignant, deeply personal play about a playwright in here, and the framing of the lead actor writing a play while performing in the same play is pleasingly meta.
Worth a watch and a real treat to see Simon Russell Beale and Fra Fee on the Scottish stage. ★★★☆☆
I'll Be Seeing You is at the Pitlochry Festival Theatre until Sunday 11 October.
On Sunday 4 October, Pitlochry Festival Theatre will be hosting a post-show discussion with director Alan Cumming, actors Simon Russell Beale and Fra Fee and playwright Martin Sherman.
MORE: Read the I'll Be Seeing You cast announcement here
MORE: Also playing at Pitlochry Festival Theatre this month: Happy Days. Read my 5* review here
MORE: Find more Scottish theatre news and reviews here
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