CRITICS’ AWARDS FOR THEATRE IN SCOTLAND

The 20th Annual CATS Awards – 2023

“Harrowing, but uplifting” drama about slavery tops 2023 Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland.

Enough of Him, May Sumbwanyambe’s drama about Joseph Knight, who freed himself from slavery through the Scottish courts, topped the 2023 Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland (CATS). The National Theatre of Scotland / Pitlochry Festival Theatre co-production picked up the Best New Play (May Sumbwanyambe), Best Director (Orla O’Loughlin) and supreme award, Best Production.

“In Enough of Him, May Sumbwanyambe has made a vital contribution to Scotland’s reckoning with its too often neglected role in the horrors of the transatlantic slave trade,” says CATS co-convenor, Mark Brown. “The play expresses brilliantly the complexity of the distorted relations between ‘master’ and slave.

Presenters for this year’s Awards

Presenters of the 2023 Awards were River City actor and celebrated panto villain Grant Stott, and BAFTA-award winning actor Shauna MacDonald.

Grant Stott & Shauna MacDonald. © Infinite Blue Designs

The 2023 CATS will be presented on the afternoon of Sunday 11 June at the Traverse Theatre Edinburgh as part of the venue’s 60th anniversary season. CEO and Executive Producer, Linda Crooks said:

Welcoming our industry colleagues and collaborators for the 2023 Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland seems particularly significant as the Traverse marks its 60th anniversary year. The championing of homegrown talent by Scottish theatre critics over the years has been vital to our nation’s cultural voice and abundance of new writing. We’re sure this year’s awards will mark a time to unite us all through the breadth of brilliant work recently seen across Scottish stages.”

To view the complete list of 2023 Winners click here.

Download a copy of the 2023 programme here!


Twitter updates: @catsawards Twitter hashtag for CATS 2023 is #CATS23