Best Male Performance
Sponsored by the Scottish Drama Training Network
- Cliff Burnett (Franz Stangl), Into That Darkness, Citizens Theatre
- Sandy Grierson (Lanark/Duncan Thaw), Lanark: A Life in Three Acts, Citizens Theatre and the Edinburgh International Festival in association with Graham Eatough and Sorcha Dallas
- Paul Higgins (Ray), Blackbird, Citizens Theatre
- Barrie Hunter (Bob), Descent, produced by A Play, a Pie and a Pint, presented by the Traverse Theatre, in association with Luminate, Scotland’s creative ageing festival
Best Female Performance
Sponsored by STV
- Maureen Beattie (Juliette), Right Now, a Traverse Theatre Company, Theatre Royal Bath Ustinov Studio and Bush Theatre co-production
- Emmanuella Cole (Hera), The Iliad, Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh
- Angela Darcy (Lisa), Ring Road, produced by A Play, a Pie and a Pint, presented by the Traverse Theatre
- Pauline Knowles (Clytemnestra), This Restless House, Citizens Theatre and National Theatre of Scotland
Best Ensemble
Sponsored by Equity
- Great Expectations, Horsecross Arts and Dundee Rep Ensemble
- Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour, National Theatre of Scotland and Live Theatre
- Purposeless Movements, Birds of Paradise Theatre Company
- Waiting for Godot, Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh
Best Director
- Dominic Hill, This Restless House, Citizens Theatre and National Theatre of Scotland
- Jemima Levick, Great Expectations, Horsecross Arts and Dundee Rep Ensemble
- Robert Softley Gale, Purposeless Movements, Birds of Paradise Theatre Company
- Mark Thomson, Waiting for Godot, Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh
Best Design
- Adrian Barber, Kim Bergsagel, Iain Halket, Symon Macintyre, Tony Reason, Alice Wilson (designers) and Stephen Moir (assistant designer), Drift, Vision Mechanics and Nordland Visual Theatre, Stamsund, Norway
- Laura Hopkins (designer), Nigel Edwards (lighting designer) and Simon Wainwright (video artist), Lanark: A Life in Three Acts, Citizens Theatre and the Edinburgh International Festival in association with Graham Eatough and Sorcha Dallas
- Becky Minto (designer) and Mike Robertson (lighting designer), Great Expectations, Horsecross Arts and Dundee Rep Ensemble
- Michael Taylor (designer) and Mark Doubleday (lighting designer), Waiting for Godot, Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh
Best Music and Sound
Sponsored by Guitar Guitar
- Nikola Kodjabashia (composer/ sound designer), This Restless House, Citizens Theatre and National Theatre of Scotland
- Martin Lowe (music arranger and supervisor), Mike Walker (sound designer), the band and cast, Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour, National Theatre of Scotland and Live Theatre
- Eddie McGuire (composer), Nik Paget-Tomlinson (sound design), Gerda Stevenson (singer) and Niroshini Thambar (sound design), Drift, Vision Mechanics and Nordland Visual Theatre, Stamsund, Norway
- Nick Powell (composer/sound designer), Lanark: A Life in Three Acts, Citizens Theatre and the Edinburgh International Festival in association with Graham Eatough and Sorcha Dallas
Best Technical Presentation
Sponsored by BECTU
- Beauty and the Beast, Horsecross Arts
- Drift, Vision Mechanics and Nordland Visual Theatre, Stamsund, Norway
- The Driver’s Seat, National Theatre of Scotland
- Lanark: A Life in Three Acts, Citizens Theatre and the Edinburgh International Festival in association with Graham Eatough and Sorcha Dallas
Best Production for Children and Young People
Sponsored by Young Scot
- Little Red and the Wolf, Dundee Rep Ensemble in association with Noisemaker
- Lost at Sea, Catherine Wheels Theatre Company, commissioned by Edinburgh International Science Festival working in partnership with Imaginate
- Magic Sho, Shona Reppe, produced by Catherine Wheels Theatre Company
- Uncanny Valley, Borderline Theatre in co-production with the Gaiety Theatre, commissioned by Edinburgh International Science Festival working in partnership with Imaginate
Best New Play
- Linda Duncan McLaughlin, Descent, produced by A Play, a Pie and a Pint presented by the Traverse Theatre, in association with Luminate, Scotland’s creative ageing festival
- Gary McNair, A Gambler’s Guide to Dying, Gary McNair with Show and Tell
- Zinnie Harris, This Restless House, Citizens Theatre and National Theatre of Scotland
- Anita Vettesse, Ring Road, produced by A Play, a Pie and a Pint, presented by the Traverse Theatre
Best Production
- Lanark: A Life in Three Acts, Citizens Theatre and the Edinburgh International Festival in association with Graham Eatough and Sorcha Dallas
- Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour, National Theatre of Scotland and Live Theatre
- This Restless House, Citizens Theatre and National Theatre of Scotland
- Waiting for Godot, Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh
The CATS judging panel for 2016 was made up of: Mary Brennan (The Herald), Irene Brown (edinburghguide.com), Mark Brown (The Sunday Herald and the Daily Telegraph), Anna Burnside (Daily Record), Paul F Cockburn (BroadwayBaby), Neil Cooper (The Herald), Michael Cox (Across the Arts), Thom Dibdin (The Stage and AllEdinburghTheatre.com), Mark Fisher (The Guardian), Joyce McMillan (The Scotsman), David Pollock (The Independent), Allan Radcliffe (The Times), Amy Taylor (The Public Reviews and TVBomb), Gareth K Vile (The List) and Joy Watters (Across the Arts).