2018 press coverage

For press enquiries about the Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland, please contact Lesley Booth, 0779 941 4474 / lesley@newcenturypr.com

19 June 2018 Daily Sabah

Turkish theater play bags awards, contributors honored

MURAT Daltaban’s “Rhinoceros” isn’t your average play — in fact it’s not even close. The play has been getting a lot of attention since its opening night at the Lyceum Theater in Edinburgh and it’s a production that will stay on everyone’s mind long after their final bows. Daltaban, the artistic director of DOT, one of the leading addresses of independent theater in Turkey, co-produced the play for the Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh and Edinburgh International Festival in association with DOT Theatre, Istanbul.

17 June 2018 Sunday Herald

In the shadow of Erdogan: interview with Turkish theatre director Murat Daltaban

AT LAST Sunday’s Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland (CATS), which were presented at Perth Theatre, the most successful production, by a distance, was Turkish director Murat Daltaban’s staging of Eugene Ionesco’s absurdist classic Rhinoceros. Presented by the Edinburgh International Festival and Edinburgh’s Royal Lyceum Theatre, in association with Daltaban’s company DOT Theatre, Istanbul, the show picked up the prizes for Best Production, Best Male Performance (Robbie Jack), Best Music and Sound (Oguz Kaplangi) and Best Director (for Daltaban himself).

15 June 2018 Perth Theatre

Perth theatre production scoops top theatre award

JESSICA Hardwick, who played Young Woman in Perth Theatre’s production of Knives in Hens has won Best Female Performance at the 2018 Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland (CATS). Announcing the award at Perth Theatre on Sunday 10 June, CATS judge Neil Cooper said: “When Jessica Hardwick first came onstage in David Harrower’s remarkable play, Knives in Hens, she was as unrecognisable as she has been in pretty much everything she has done in her still short acting career.”

13 June 2018 Broadway World

RHINOCEROS Wins Big at Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland

SCOTLAND’S leading theatre critics awarded Rhinoceros, a co-production between the Edinburgh Lyceum and Istanbul’s DOT theatre, in 4 categories. The acclaimed production had first met the audience at the Edinburgh International Festival back in Summer, 2017 and it had another two-weeks long run in Spring, 2018.

12 June 2018 Daily Record

Perth city centre businesses left counting the cost after power cut

THE Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland (CATS) ceremony was cut short at the Perth Theatre fifteen minutes in. A spokesperson for the theatre said: “In true showbiz style, the show went on with the audience and presenters gathering in Perth Theatre’s foyer for the short duration of the power cut. When power was restored, the ceremony continued in the auditorium.”

11 June 2018 The National

Rhinoceros wins Scottish theatre critics award

A REWORKING of a classic play which tackles the rise of fascism and Nazism in Europe has come top at a Scottish national theatre awards ceremony. Scottish dramatist Zinnie Harris’s version of Ionesco’s Rhinoceros, co-produced by the Edinburgh International Festival, Royal Lyceum Theatre and DOT Theatre in Istanbul, won four of the Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland, including the foremost accolade, best production.

11 June 2018 Hurriyet

DOT’a İskoçya’dan 4 ödül

DOT’un ortak yapımcılarından olduğu, yönetmenliğini Murat Daltaban’ın üstlendiği ‘Rhinoceros’ (Gergedanlar), İskoçya’da eleştirmenlerce verilen CATS Ödülleri’nden dört ödülle ayrıldı. Türkiye’de bağımsız tiyatronun öncü adreslerinden olan DOT’un sanat yönetmeni Murat Daltaban’ın Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh’da sahnelediği Edinburgh International Festival ortak yapımı ‘Rhinoceros’ (Gergedanlar) oyunu, yedi dalda aday olduğu ‘Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland (CATS) 2018’den dört ödül aldı. Pazar akşamı Perth Theatre’da düzenlenen törende Murat Daltaban ‘en iyi yönetmen’ ve Robert Jack ‘en iyi erkek oyuncu’ ödüllerini alırken; en iyi müzik ve ses (Oğuz Kaplangı) ve en iyi yapım dallarındaki ödüller de ‘Rhinoceros’un oldu.

11 June 2018 The Times

Rhinoceros charges to four critics’ awards

A REWORKING of a classic play which tackles the rise of fascism and Nazism in Europe was the big winner at a national theatre awards ceremony.Eugène Ionesco’s Rhinoceros, translated by Zinnie Harris, won four of the Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland, including the main prize, best production. Murat Daltaban won best director at the ceremony at Perth Theatre for the show, which was described as “fascinating and wildly stylish” by The Times. Robert Jack won best male performer, displaying “great comic timing”. Rhinoceros also earned Oguz Kaplangi the award for best music and sound.

11 June 2018 The Courier

Stars of stage help relaunch Perth Theatre with glittering awards night

THE recently revived Perth Theatre has scored a top industry award for one of its latest productions.The Edwardian venue, which was regenerated last year after a £16.6 million upgrade, hosted an evening of stars on Sunday with the prestigious Critics Awards for Theatre in Scotland (CATS). Actors, directors, producers and other talents gathered in the Fair City for Scottish theatre’s equivalent of the Oscars. And Perth claimed a victory for star Jessica Hardwick, who took the Best Female Performance title for her role in the highly acclaimed Knives in Hens.

11 June 2018 Edinburgh International Festival

The International Festival wins six awards at the CATS

THE Edinburgh International Festival has won six awards at the 2018 Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland (CATS). Held this year at Perth Theatre, the CATS recognise excellence in Scottish Theatre across disciplines and genres, and are awarded by Scotland’s leading theatre critics. The awards were won by two outstanding theatre shows from the 2017 International Festival programme, Rhinoceros and Flight.

11 June 2018 Edinburgh Guide

Edinburgh’s Lyceum Co-production of Anti-fascist Play Tops 2018 CATS

A NEW version by Zinnie Harris of Eugène Ionesco’s absurdist classic, Rhinoceros, that responded to the rise of fascism and Nazism in Europe, has topped the 2018 Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland (CATS). The 2018 Awards were presented at Perth’s beautifully re-furbished theatre by well-loved Scottish actress Blythe Duff who is no stranger to the CATS, having won Best Female Performance two years running. Blythe generously stepped in as guest presenter at the eleventh hour in place of Scots Makar, Jackie Kay who was indisposed and this year’s ceremony was ably assisted by 2 BSL translators.

11 June 2018 Steemit

National Theatre Awards 2018

ANTI-FACIST play tops Critics Awards for Theatre in Scotland. Ionesco’s Rhinoceros is a modifying of a great piece that handles the ascent of autocracy and Nazism in Europe.

10 June 2018 Broadway Baby

Timely Production of Rhinoceros Tops 2018 CATS

A NEW production of Eugène Ionesco’s classic play Rhinoceros, originally written as a response to the rise of fascism and Nazism in Europe, has topped the 2018 Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland (CATS). The co-production (between the Edinburgh International Festival, the Scottish capital’s Royal Lyceum Theatre and DOT Theatre, Istanbul) won four CATS including the accolade of Best Production.

10 June All Edinburgh Theatre

2018 CATS in Full

THE CATS moved up to the newly refurbished Perth Theatre for its ceremony this year, presenting awards across ten categories of theatre. Over 180 different productions were eligible for the awards, with 90 eligible for the best new play award and a dozen eligible for the theatre for children and young people category.

10 June All Edinburgh Theatre

Edinburgh cream of CATS

EIGHT out of the ten awards handed out at the Critics Awards for Theatre in Scotland have been won by productions made or commissioned in Edinburgh. The major winner at the awards was Rhinoceros, a co-production between the Lyceum and the Edinburgh International Festival in association with DOT Theatre, Istanbul, which took four awards including Best Production.

10 June 2018 BBC

Anti-fascist play tops Critics Awards for Theatre in Scotland

A PLAY that warns about the dangers of conformity has come out top in Critics Awards for Theatre in Scotland. Ionesco’s Rhinoceros is a reworking of a classic piece that tackles the rise of fascism and Nazism in Europe.It took four awards, including best production, best director for Murat Daltaban and best male performance for Robert Jack.

10 June 2018 The Scotsman

Anti-fascist play tops Scottish national theatre awards

A REWORKING of a classic play which tackles the rise of fascism and Nazism in Europe has come top in a national theatre awards ceremony. Ionesco’s Rhinoceros, co-produced by the Edinburgh International Festival, Royal Lyceum Theatre, DOT Theatre and Istanbul international, won four of the Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland, including the foremost accolade, best production.

10 June 2018 The Herald

Tale of the alarming rise of fascism scoops major prizes at Scottish theatre awards

A PLAY about the subtle and alarmingly smooth rise of fascism is the biggest winner at this year’s Scottish theatre awards.Rhinoceros has scooped for awards at the Critics Awards for Theatre in Scotland, or CATS.The production of Eugene Ionesco’s 1959 play at the Edinburgh International Festival (EIF) won awards for best director in Murat Daltaban, best male performance by Robert Jack, best music by Oguz Kaplangi, and the overall best production prize.

10 June 2018 BBC Radio Scotland

Good Morning Scotland

CATS co-convenor Joyce McMillan and nominee Angie Dight in conversation.

9 June 2018 Lovett Logan

The Critics’s Awards for Theatre in Scotland 2018

WE are delighted to have so many clients in CATS nominated productions this year -Robert Jack has been nominated for Best Male Performance for his role of Berenger in Rhinoceros. The production is up for several awards, including Best Ensemble. Other Best Ensemble nominee productions include August Osage County, with clients Beth Marshall and Ann Louise Ross, and The Belle’s Stratagem, with clients Richard Conlon and Helen Mackay.

28 May 2018 Galloway Gazette

Flying start to arts festival

TWO festival shows are up for a gong in this year’s Critics Awards for Theatre in Scotland. Award-winning writer and performer Alan Bissett’s More Moira Monologues has been nominated for best new play. Alan will be performing the show at the CatStrand, New Galloway, on Thursday, 31 May and at Thomas Tosh, Thornhill, on Friday, 1 June. Apphia Campbell has been nominated for Best Female Performer for her performance in Woke, which comes to the Fullarton Theatre, Castle Douglas, on Saturday, 2 June, and will play out the festival at the Theatre Royal, Dumfries, on Sunday, 3 June.

11 May 2018 The Agency

Alan Bissett’s (MORE) MOIRA MONOLOGUES nominated at CATS

ALAN Bissett’s (MORE) MOIRA MONOLOGUES has been nominated for ‘Best New Play’ at the Critics Awards for Theatre in Scotland. This follows it’s Scotsman Fringe First Award at last year’s Edinburgh Festival. Since the fringe Alan’s one-woman show has been touring Scotland and England.

10 May 2018 Traverse Theatre

Meet Me at Dawn nominated for CATS Award

NOMINATIONS for the prestigious Critics Awards for Theatre in Scotland are in today, and we’re delighted to share that Meet Me at Dawn has been nominated for BEST NEW PLAY. This tidal wave of a play by Zinnie Harris enjoyed a critically acclaimed run at TravFest17 as part of the Edinburgh International Festival. Meet Me at Dawn is modern fable exploring the triumph of everyday love, the mystery of grief, and the temptation to become lost in a fantasy future that will never be.

10 May 2018 Broadway World Turkey

Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland Nominations: RHINOCEROS picks up 7 nods

THE Royal Lyceum Theatre dominates Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland (CATS) nominations again with a dozen nods, seven of which belongs to Rhinoceros, a co-production between the Edinburgh Lyceum and Istanbul’s DOT theatre.

10 May 2018 Edinburgh Guide

Edinburgh’s Lyceum tops the shortlists for 2018 CATS

THE shortlists for the 2018 Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland (CATS) were released today and Edinburgh’s Lyceum Theatre has topped the list with 12 nominations across four different productions. This includes the most recognised production Rhinoceros, a co-production with Edinburgh International Festival, DOT Theatre, Istanbul, that has been nominated in 7 of the 10 categories.

10 May 2018 British Theatre Guide

Lyceum tops CATS nominations again

EDINBURGH’S Royal Lyceum Theatre has received the most nominations in the Critics Awards for Theatre in Scotland for the second year in a row, with 12 nominations in 7 categories. It’s most-nominated production is Rhinoceros, with nominations in 7 of the 10 award categories.Close behind is Perth Theatre with 6 nominations followed by Glasgow Citizens with 5.

10 May 2018 All Edinburgh Theatre

It’s Cool for Edinburgh at CATS: Edinburgh companies dominate Critics Awards shortlist

The shortlist for this year’s Critics Awards for Theatre in Scotland have been published and exactly half the nominations are for productions made or co-produced in Edinburgh. The Lyceum comes out best with a dozen nominations for four productions across seven of the ten different categories. Three EIF co-productions receive a total of 11 nominations between them.

10 May 2018 Glasgow Live

Glasgow theatre productions up for major industry awards

GLASGOW-BASED theatre shows and performers have scooped 11 nominations for major industry awards. Bob and Sue and Rita too and Emmerdale star George Costigan is up for a gong for his performance in Eugene O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey into Night at The Citizens Theatre.

10 May 2018 The Courier

Tayside theatres in the running for top awards

THEATRES across Tayside have been nominated for top prizes in this year’s Critics Awards for Theatre in Scotland (CATS) competition. The newly refurbished Perth Theatre, which opened its doors to the public for the first time in more than three years last December, will host this year’s awards on June 10. Perth has been nominated in six categories across three separate productions – Jessica Hardwick is shortlisted in the Best Female Performance award, Lu Kemp is shortlisted for the Best Director Award, Jamie Vartan and Simon Wilkinson are shortlisted for Best Design, and the performance is also shortlisted for the supreme award, Best Production.

10 May 2018 Pitlochry Festival Theatre

Monarch of the Glen nominated for Best New Play

WE’REdelighted by the Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland (CATS) nomination for Peter Arnott’s adaption of Compton Mackenzie’s novel The Monarch Of The Glen, which played at the theatre last autumn. Director Richard Baron said: “Although I have directed over forty shows at Pitlochry, The Monarch Of The Glen is the first time I have had the pleasure of collaborating on a newly commissioned work with a living Scottish playwright. Peter Arnott’s astutely light-hearted adaptation of Compton Mackenzie’s 1930s Highland farce brought an enjoyable contemporary bite of sharp political satire to a script that was great fun to stage in the madcap manner of previous Pitlochry productions.”

10 May 2018 The Herald

Lyceum leads Scottish theatre awards short lists

EDINBURGH’S Royal Lyceum leads this year’s Scottish theatre awards short lists with a dozen nominations. The Critics Awards for Theatre in Scotland or CATS award short lists also include five nominations for the Citizens Theatre in Glasgow, and six for Perth Theatre, following a major refurbishment.

10 May 2018 The Scotsman

Royal Lyceum leads race for Scottish Theatre Oscars

EDINBURGH’S Royal Lyceum is leading the race for honours in the annual “Scottish theatre Oscars”. Glory on Earth, Cockpit, The Belle’s Stratagem and Rhinoceros, which were staged at the venue over the last year, have been shortlisted for major prizes at the Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland. Rhinoceros, which was staged during the Edinburgh International Festival, will be competing with another EIF show, Flight, Cockpit and Perth Theatre’s production of Knives in Hens for the best production award.

10 May 2018 The Stage

Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland: Nominations in full

THE nominees for the Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland have been announced. Of the 180 new productions produced in Scotland from May 2017 to April 2018 eligible for the awards, a total of 23 received nominations.

10 May 2018 The Stage

Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland nominations: Edinburgh’s Lyceum picks up 12 nods

EDINBURGH’S Royal Lyceum Theatre has taken the lion’s share of nominations for this year’s Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland, being shortlisted in 12 categories. The most nods for a single production is seven – going to Rhinoceros, Zinnie Harris’ adaptation of Ionesco. The Lyceum’s co-production with the Edinburgh International Festival and Dot Theatre, Istanbul, also gets nods for best production, ensemble, director – for Dot theatre’s Murat Daltaban – use of music, design and technical presentation.