A HISTORY OF PAPER
Starring Alan Cumming and Shirley Henderson
Book by Oliver Emanuel
Music by Gareth Williams
Lyrics by Oliver Emanuel and Gareth Williams
Directed by Andrew Panton
Performances February 12-May 16, 2027
Stage 42, 422 West 42nd Street
Producers Sonia Friedman Productions, Jerry Goehring and Pemberley Productions are pleased to announce that following its sold-out run in Scotland, the critically acclaimed musical A History of Paper, starring Tony, Emmy, BAFTA and Olivier Award winner Alan Cumming, and Olivier and BAFTA Award winner Shirley Henderson in her highly anticipated NYC debut, will make its US premiere this winter.
A co-production from Scotland’s Pitlochry Festival Theatre and Dundee Rep Theatre, A History of Paper will begin performances on Friday, February 12, 2027 Off-Broadway at the Shubert Organization’s Stage 42 (422 West 42nd Street). A History of Paper, which is directed by Dundee Rep Theatre’s award-winning Artistic Director Andrew Panton, will play a strictly limited engagement for 13 weeks only through Sunday, May 16, 2027.
A History of Paper started life as an original BBC Radio 4 play in 2017, written by Oliver Emanuel. Oliver, and composer Gareth Williams, subsequently adapted it as a work-in-progress at Dundee Rep Theatre in 2019 as part of Rep Stripped, the theatre’s festival championing new Scottish work and giving artists space to develop and share bold ideas with live audiences. The production went on to make its Edinburgh Festival Fringe debut at The Traverse Theatre in 2024, where it won the coveted Fringe First Award. Alan Cumming saw and fell in love with it and, with director Andrew Panton, arranged for it to be a part of his first season as Artistic Director at Pitlochry Festival Theatre.
The New York transfer marks a major international milestone for both Pitlochry Festival Theatre and Dundee Rep Theatre, with A History of Paper becoming the first production from either theatre to transfer Off-Broadway. It also reflects the growing international reach of theatre made in Scotland, following the success of No Love Songs, which originated at Dundee Rep Theatre before transferring to the US and Australia in 2025.
This funny and deeply moving two-character chamber musical charts a universal love story through the physical paper artifacts that define a relationship and a lifetime—from letters, menus and train tickets to shopping lists and postcards.
The production features design by Ana Inés Jabares-Pita, lighting design by Bruno Poet, and sound design by Alexandra Faye Braithwaite. Musical Supervisor / Musical Director and Pianist is Gavin Whitworth.
Marketing for A History of Paper is by Situation Interactive. Social Media is by Sara Robillard. US Casting is by Stephanie Yankwitt & Company Casting. General management is by Pemberley Productions.