Amateur dramatics played a big part in the life of every community, large and small, in the 20th century.  Portsoy was no exception.  Portsoy was however distinct for a place its size, in having an open-air theatre, from the mid 1950s until 1962.  Productions were staged annually, at first in the field opposite the railway station (now the Scout Hut), but afterwards at the Burnie Brae, Aird Street, where tiered seating was built.

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The main driving force for the Open-Air Theatre was Parish Priest, Father John F. Copland, who headed up the "Portsoy Town Improvement Association", secured the support of Banffshire's County Drama Organiser, Mr L. G. Cochrane as Producer, and organised countless local aspiring thespians, musicians and production volunteers to put on the musical plays every year.