Pitlochry Festival Theatre is an artistic hub and performance venue based in the heart of Scotland. Incepted in 1951 by John Stewart from his back garden, it has grown over the decades and is celebrating its 71st season as an attraction for artists, tourists, and audiences alike. Offering productions from four different spaces, the Theatre needed advanced technological solutions to remain at the forefront of the theatre industry.

As part of their VISION 2021 Project, an innovative capital redevelopment they redeveloped their Front of House, created a new Studio theatre space and identified a need for upgrades to their IT systems. This included their network, connectivity, firewalls, security posture, and internet email security, along with their IT infrastructure.

Upgrading IT Systems

When looking for an IT partner, the Theatre wanted to work with a business that reflected their approach to valuing the customer experience , Emma Stewart, Head of Project Development at Pitlochry Festival Theatre said, “When we asked razorblue about how they track feedback and customer satisfaction, it was really encouraging to hear the way that they value their customers, and how they implement what they learn from their customers and their people.”

Pitlochry brought razorblue on board as a partner at the beginning of May, and one of first challenges in upgrading Pitlochry Festival Theatre was quickly getting their Wi-Fi up and running ready for their first opening in nearly two and a half years. Emma further added, “After they had got our Wi-Fi up and live ready for opening, which (was an amazing feat!) Andy stayed behind, got changed into a fresh shirt and came out to make sure that the Wi-Fi stayed up all night. But in the hour before we were opening, he grabbed a duster, and he was helping clean windows. Everybody has just been brilliant from the start, so, we’re really, happy with this partnership.”

Work carried out by razorblue implementing infrastructure has meant that the Theatre has been able to take the decision to go cashless, using their new Wi-Fi network for their PDQ systems.

“We are confident that our new system is bulletproof enough for us to become cashless and that we now have strong connectivity to support our online transactions too. We feel assured that the investment that we’re making with razorblue is going to allow for that.”

As audiences become more technologically sophisticated, it’s crucial for Pitlochry to stay at the forefront. Building connectivity throughout their entire campus allows them to offer more creative and interactive experiences, and harness technology to make their customer experience slicker and more seamless. They are using digital systems to encourage audience participation by voting for their favourite actor and give feedback on customer experience, as well as introducing e-tickets and QR codes. Additionally, by cutting back on the paper they use for operations, it helps them move towards their goal of being Scotland’s first net zero theatre.

“We are operating at a higher level of confidence, with safer and more efficient processes, as well as more environmentally sustainable operations, because we can trust the infrastructure that’s been put in place with razorblue. We’re going above and beyond to provide the digital experience that audiences expect and increase the level of our customer experience.”

The work done has also allowed Pitlochry Festival Theatre to adopt distributed working for their +50 users.

“The flexibility across our 11-acre campus, where you can work securely wherever your laptop is, makes working so much easier. Creating theatre involves a transient group of people with specialist skills that aren’t always on site; they’re moving, they’re working on different projects, they are freelancers doing different things. Pitlochry is now the ideal scenario, where everyone can dial into meetings and still feel like they are in the room, even when they’re potentially at the other side of the world.”

We will continue to work closely with Pitlochry Festival Theatre to ensure they are ahead of the curve with the help of strategic technologies that support their goals and needs. We’re looking forward to continuing this successful partnership and seeing where it takes us.