Alan Cumming and Shirley Henderson to Star Off-Broadway in A History of Paper

Tony, Emmy, BAFTA and Olivier Award winner Alan Cumming is heading from The Traitors turret to the off-Broadway stage. He will star in A History of Paper alongside Olivier and BAFTA Award winner Shirley Henderson. The musical, with a book by Oliver Emanuel, music by Gareth Williams and lyrics by Emanuel and Williams, is directed by Andrew Panton. Performances will begin on February 12, 2027 and will continue for a 13-week limited engagement through May 16 at Stage 42.

“I am so thrilled to bring A History of Paper from my home country of Scotland to my adopted home in New York City,” Cumming said in a statement. “This is one of these rare shows that transcends its own story and manages to touch an audience in a really visceral and beautiful way. And it utterly belongs in New York City. Since taking over as Artistic Director at Pitlochry Festival Theatre it has been my plan (and dream) to start a theatrical exchange channel between Manhattan and our theatre in the hills. This is the first show to do so and I couldn’t be happier to be doing it alongside Shirley, who I first worked with over forty years ago!”

A History of Paper started life as an original BBC Radio 4 play in 2017, written by Emanuel. He and composer Williams subsequently adapted it as a work-in-progress at Dundee Rep Theatre in 2019 as part of Rep Stripped, the theater’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 Fringe First Award. Cumming and Panton then arranged for it to be a part of Cumming's first season as Artistic Director at Pitlochry Festival Theatre.

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.

Cumming is a Tony winner for Cabaret. His additional Broadway credits include Design for Living, The Threepenny Opera and the solo Macbeth. In London, his stage performances include Accidental Death of an Anarchist, Hamlet and more. He is the three-time Emmy-winning host and master of ceremonies for NBC’s reality series, The Traitors. His other screen credits include GoldenEye, Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion and Schmigadoon!

Henderson will make her New York stage debut with A History of Paper. Her London stage credits include Girl from the North Country—for which she won the Olivier Award—and The Winter's Tale. On film, she is widely recognized for her role as Moaning Myrtle in the Harry Potter films and Jude in the Bridget Jones films, as well as Topsy-Turvy, Trainspotting and Stan & Ollie.

The production features design by Ana Inés Jabares-Pita, lighting design by Bruno Poet and sound design by Alexandra Faye Braithwaite. The musical supervisor, musical director and pianist is Gavin Whitworth.