Press release 12 May 2011

~THE National Theatre of Scotland and Edinburgh’s Royal Lyceum have emerged as the leaders in this year’s Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland nominations, shortlisted in no less than six categories each. Dundee Repertory Theatre and The Traverse Theatre Company also have plenty to celebrate, following closely behind with an impressive five nominations apiece.

Roadkill and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street lead the field in terms of individual productions – both are in the running for five awards – whilst Age of Arousal, The Three Musketeers and the Princess of Spain and The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart are all in the running to pick up four trophies.

The Best Female Performance category will be hard fought as Kate Dickie (Any Given Day), Blythe Duff (Good With People) and Gemma McElhinney (The Monster in the Hall) and Mercy Ojelade (Roadkill) compete for the coveted title. The competition for Best Male Performance is no less fierce as David Birrell (Sweeney Todd:The Demon Barber of Fleet Street), Alex Ferns (The Hard Man), Peter Forbes (Educating Agnes) and Ian Smith (My Hands Are Dancing But My Heart Is Cold) wait to find out who this year’s victor will be.

Glasgow highlights include three production award nominations for Vox Motus. Fellow CCA residents, Cryptic are 2011’s newcomers receiving their very first nomination for Best Technical Presentation (Orlando). The Citizens Theatre is also represented in the Best Production for Children and Young People category (Beauty and the Beast).

~Looking East, whilst the Royal Lyceum and Traverse Theatre dominate, Musselburgh-based children’s theatre company Catherine Wheels is in line for four awards, including two for Best Production for Children and Young People for White and Caged.

Co-convenor Mark Fisher said: “It was a spectacular year for theatre in Scotland and, in category after category, the judges found themselves weighing one great show against another. The nominations range from Nothing To See Here, a community show in Aberdeen with a cast of 250, to My Hands Are Dancing But My Heart Is Cold, a one-man show performed to an audience of one. All manner of work lies in between – from popular musicals to site-specific drama, from lively comedy to sublime children’s theatre – demonstrating the range and vibrancy of theatre in Scotland.”

In an exciting addition to CATS’ well-respected group of sponsors, Equity, the UK trade union for professional performers and creative practitioners has entered into a three year relationship with the awards, sponsoring the Best Ensemble category.

Now in its ninth year, the CATS has become a highlight of the theatrical calendar in Scotland, celebrating the actors, directors playwrights and other artists who have made the most thrilling contributions to the industry. Any piece of professional theatre substantially produced in Scotland in the 12 months from May to April (the natural break in the theatre year) is eligible. This year’s ceremony will be held for a third time at the Festival Theatre in Edinburgh on Sunday 12 June at 3.00pm.

The event is open to members of the public and offers a unique opportunity for audiences to come together with the cream of the Scottish theatre community to celebrate the contribution that work produced in Scotland makes to the cultural life of the country.

Tickets cost £15 (including live entertainment, entry to the awards ceremony, a pre- and post- show glass of fizz and light refreshments) and can be purchased through the Festival Theatre box office. For further information on the CATS visit www.criticsawards.theatrescotland.com.

NOTES TO EDITORS:

CATS organisers would like to thank The Mackintosh Foundation, the charity set up by theatre producer Cameron Mackintosh to promote and develop theatrical, musical and dramatic arts, for its pledge of £3,000 over three years to support this unique event. In addition, technical services company Northern Light, insurance specialists W&P Longreach have each donated £500 a year until 2012 to support the individual awards for Best Technical Presentation, Best Male Performance and Best New Play, while media company STV has pledged £500 a year for five years to support the award for Best Female Performance. The list of sponsors is joined by Equity which is supporting the award for Best Ensemble. Equity has kindly pledged £500 to support the award for three years. The ceremony will be sponsored by catering company Appetite Direct and arts and entertainments publication The List

Press release 8 May 2014

• Dragon and Huff together receive eight nominations
• Contribution of Imaginate Festival celebrated in 
• CATS Whiskers Award
• Over 30 different companies recognised in the shortlists
• Ceremony at the Citizens Theatre on Sunday 8 June 2014

If there had ever been any doubts over the calibre of work for children and young people produced in Scotland, the 2014 CATS shortlists released today, Thursday 8 May 2014, would immediately dispel them. Two productions created specifically with a younger audience in mind – Dragon (Vox Motus, National Theatre of Scotland and the Tianjin People’s Art Theatre, China) and Huff  (Shona Reppe and Andy Manley, produced by Catherine Wheels Theatre Company) – have together received eight nominations across six categories including the highest accolade, Best Production. 

It was also announced that a CATS Whiskers, an occasional award that recognises an outstanding contribution to Scottish theatre, would be conferred on the Imaginate Festival which has been producing excellent work for young people for the last 25 years. 

“Engaging young people with theatre is the driving force of Imaginate, and what an amazing job they have been doing over the last 25 years,” says Joyce McMillan, CATS co-convenor.   “They are very worthy recipients of a CATS Whiskers.”

“However, Imaginate is not alone in a commitment to creating vibrant and innovative theatre for young people, as this year’s shortlists demonstrate. Dragon, a truly beautiful and thoughtful treatment of grief and loss, and Huff, which showed how human beings have the power to create a better world, demonstrated how work developed for a younger audience did not shy away from difficult topics and challenging themes, but addressed them head on with sensitivity and wonderful creativity.”

Scottish theatre goes from strength to strength

Over 30 different companies are recognised in the 2014 CATS, illustrating the breadth and depth of quality of productions created in Scotland during the last year. Ranging from the National Theatre of Scotland whose total of CATS nominations has now reached 83 to first time nominees – Datum Point, Grinagog, Iron-Oxide and Birds of Paradise – the 2014 shortlists feature no fewer than 32 different companies and co-producers.

“Scotland continues to be a place where theatrical creativity flourishes,” adds CATS co-convenor Mark Fisher. “The National Theatre of Scotland has once again produced and co-produced acclaimed pieces from Let the Right One In, which has just opened in London’s West End, to Dragon, in which it partnered Vox Motus and Tianjin People’s Art Theatre, China, and The Beautiful Cosmos of Ivor Cutler, with Vanishing Point, which has just finished a tour of Scotland. 2014 has also seen a flourishing of projects by smaller companies with Datum Point, Grinagog, Iron-Oxide all first time nominees.”

“Shetland” actor Rebecca Benson and last year’s winner, Blythe Duff, on shortlist for Best Female Performance

A strong Best Female Performance shortlist features Rebecca Benson, recently seen in BBC’s Shetland, for her role as Eli in Let the Right One In, which has recently opened in London’s West End; Elicia Daly for her role as Phyllis King in The Beautiful Cosmos of Ivor Cutler; Adura Onashile in HeLa and last year’s winner, Blythe Duff, for Ciara.

2006 winner Sandy Grierson in frame for Best Male Performance Award

Sandy Grierson, winner of the 2006 Best Male Performance Award, makes the 2014 shortlist for his tremendous skill and affection in the portrayal of Ivor Cutler in The Beautiful Cosmos of Ivor Cutler alongside former Holby City star Adam Best’s “towering performance” as Raskolnikov; Jimmy Chisholm’s “terrific central performance” in The Collection and Scott Reid “in blistering form” in A Perfect Stroke

Strong showing for Crime and Punishment, The Beautiful Cosmos of Ivor Cutler and Paul Bright’s Confessions of a Justified Sinner

Five productions have received three or more nominations in this year’s awards.  Dominic Hill’s production of Crime and Punishment leads the pack with six, followed closely by Dragon with five, and Matthew Lenton’s The Beautiful Cosmos of Ivor Cutler and Stewart Laing’s Paul Bright’s Confessions of a Justified Sinner with four. Orla O’Loughlin’s Ciara and Shona Reppe and Andy Manley’s Huff both received three nominations.

The 2014 Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland were open to any professional theatre work produced in Scotland between May 1 2013 and 30 April 2014. 190 new productions that opened in the year were considered for the awards, of which 127 were new plays/scripts and 39 productions created for children and young people.

For full shortlists see Notes for Editors

The 2014 CATS Awards will be presented at the Citizens Theatre in Glasgow on the afternoon of Sunday 8 June. Tickets priced £15/£10 (students) from the box office, by telephone on 0141 429 0022 and online at www.citz.co.uk 

For further information the Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland visit:

www.criticsawards.theatrescotland.com

Ends

For further CATS information, images and interviews contact:

Lesley Booth, New Century PR, 0779 941 4474 lesley@newcenturypr.com

Listing

Sunday 8 June 2013 at 3.30pm

The Citizens Theatre

12th annual Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland

Join with the cream of Scottish theatre for the annual glittering award ceremony followed the opportunity to mingle with the winners.

Tickets priced £15/£10 (students) from the box office, by telephone on 0141 429 0022 and online at www.citz.co.uk 

Notes for Editors

The CATS judging panel for 2014 was made up of: Mary Brennan (The Herald), Anna Burnside (freelance), Irene Brown (edinburghguide.com), Mark Brown (The Sunday Herald and the Daily Telegraph), Neil Cooper (The Herald), Michael Cox (Across the Arts), Thom Dibdin (The Stage and AllEdinburghTheatre.com), Mark Fisher (The Guardian), Joyce McMillan (The Scotsman), Allan Radcliffe (The Times), Amy Taylor (The Public Reviews and TVBomb), Gareth K Vile (The List) and Joy Watters (Across the Arts).

Press release 13 May 2010

EDINBURGH’S Traverse Theatre leads the field in this year’s Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland with ten nominations across six out of a possible ten categories.

For the first time, the shortlist also includes a show rooted in the visual arts as much as in theatre with The Darktown Cakewalk, performed as part of the Glasgow International Festival of Visual Art, nominated for Best Ensemble and Best Use of Music and Sound. Another CATS first is the addition of an all-inclusive company with Lung Ha’s nominated in the Best Ensemble category for Huxley’s Lab, a collaboration with Grid Iron. 

Although theatre companies in Edinburgh and Glasgow have dominated the shortlist it has also been a good year for Dundee Repertory Theatre with six nominations, while Pitlochry Festival Theatre, Perth Theatre and Fife Arts Trust have each appeared in at least one category. 

Co-convenor Mark Fisher said: “It has been a bumper year for great theatre in Scotland and we were spoilt for choice when it came to making our selections. It means the 2010 shortlists represent a truly impressive range of talent, whether it is the most intimate one-person show or, as is the case with Huxley’s Lab, a production with a cast of 30. It’s sure to make for a lively ceremony on 13 June.”

As well as topping the awards list this year the Traverse Theatre also received the largest number of nominations for any one show, with The Dark Things appearing in six categories. Artistic director Dominic Hill appears twice on the shortlist for Best Director for The Goat, or Who is Sylvia? and The Dark Things, with both plays competing for Best Production. 

Dundee Repertory Theatre also has plenty to celebrate with A Christmas Carol and The Elephant Man each receiving three nominations, while the Tron Theatre in Glasgow appears in four different categories for The Government Inspector, a co-production with Communicado Theatre Company.

CATS newcomers this year include playwrights Alan Bissett for Turbo Folk (A Play, a Pie and a Pint) and Kieran Hurley for Hitch (The Arches), while Lung Ha’s Theatre Company, Theatre Modo, the Glasgow International Festival of Visual Art and Giant have also appeared on the shortlist for the first time. 

Now in its eighth year, the CATS has become a highlight of the theatrical calendar in Scotland, celebrating the actors, directors, playwrights and other artists who have made the most thrilling contributions to the industry over the past 12 months. This year the ceremony will be held for a second time at the Festival Theatre in Edinburgh on Sunday 13 June at 3pm. 

The event is open to members of the public and offers a unique opportunity for audiences to come together with the cream of the Scottish theatre community and celebrate the contribution that work produced in Scotland makes to the cultural life of the country. 

Tickets cost £15 (including live entertainment, entry to the awards ceremony, drinks and light refreshments) and can be purchased through the Festival Theatre box office. For further information on the CATS visit www.criticsawards.theatrescotland.com.

NOTES TO EDITORS:

CATS organisers would like to thank The Mackintosh Foundation, the charity set up by theatre producer Cameron Mackintosh to promote and develop theatrical, musical and dramatic arts, for its recent pledge of £3,000 over three years to support the prestigious event. In addition, technical services company Northern Light, advertising and design agency Guy Robertson Partnership and insurance specialists W&P Longreach have each donated £500 a year until 2012 to support the individual awards for Best Technical Presentation, Best Actor (Male) and Best New Play. The ceremony will be sponsored by catering company Appetite Direct and arts and entertainments publication The List.