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2014

Winners and Nominations

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Best Male Performance

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  • WINNER - Adam Best (Raskolnikov), Crime and Punishment, Citizens Theatre, Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse and Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh

  • Jimmy Chisholm (Bob Lawson), The Collection, Rapture Theatre in association with the Beacon Greenock

  • Sandy Grierson (Ivor Cutler), The Beautiful Cosmos of Ivor Cutler, Vanishing Point and the National Theatre of Scotland presented in association with Eden Court

  • Scott Reid (Thomas), A Perfect Stroke, A Play, a Pie and a Pint presented by the Traverse Theatre Company

 

“Dostoevsky’s alienated student who commits murder for ideological reasons and then battles it out with the authorities and his own conscience is as complex and unpredictable a character as Hamlet or Iago. Adam Best captured this anti-hero’s startling mix of rage and compassion with an epic performance, the linchpin of a fine ensemble.”

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Best Female Performance

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  • Rebecca Benson (Eli), Let the Right One In, National Theatre of Scotland by arrangement with Marla Rubin Productions Ltd and Bill Kenwright, in association with Dundee Rep

  • Elicia Daly (Phyllis King), The Beautiful Cosmos of Ivor Cutler, Vanishing Point and the National Theatre of Scotland presented in association with Eden Court 

  • WINNERBlythe Duff (Ciara), Ciara, Traverse Theatre Company and Datum Point Productions

  • Adura Onashile (Henrietta Lacks), HeLa, Iron-Oxide

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“Blythe Duff makes the perfect Ciara. Alone onstage for the full length of the play, Duff’s intense presence delivers David Harrrower’s exquisite text with the full light and shade required to make Orla O’Loughlin’s production so powerful. Who says lightning doesn’t strike twice, as Duff, for so long a familiar face from TV, proves herself once again to be a consummate stage actress, and thoroughly deserving to be named as CATS best actress of the year.”

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Best Ensemble

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  • WINNERCrime and Punishment, Citizens Theatre, Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse and Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh 

  • Dragon, Vox Motus, National Theatre of Scotland and the Tianjin People’s Art Theatre, China

  • Long Day’s Journey into Night, Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh 

  • A Satire of the Three Estates, AandBC Theatre in partnership with Edinburgh and Brunel Universities, Historic Scotland and the Arts and Humanities Research Council.

 

“There has been plenty of wonderful ensemble work in Scottish theatre this year, but nothing more dazzling than the achievement of the ten-strong cast of Crime And Punishment. In a show full of strong individual performances, the cast also worked superbly together to provide the soundscape, the sense of street life, and the thrilling choral music that captured vital social and moral dimensions of Dostoevsky’s great story, and were central."

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Best Director

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  • WINNERDominic Hill, Crime and Punishment, Citizens Theatre, Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse and Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh

  • Stewart Laing, Paul Bright’s Confessions of a Justified Sinner, Untitled Projects in co-production with the National Theatre of Scotland, Tramway and Summerhall

  • Orla O’Loughlin, Ciara, Traverse Theatre Company and Datum Point Productions

  • John Tiffany, Let the Right One In, National Theatre of Scotland by arrangement with Marla Rubin Productions Ltd and Bill Kenwright, in association with Dundee Rep

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“Hill’s direction was exceptional. He created a production that delivered for its chosen space and audience. Hill distilled a great story into an easily comprehensible and hugely watchable narrative, which was always compelling to watch, yet found and exposed its hidden depths. He brought a succession of vibrant performances out of a cast of actor-musicians whose constant presence on stage ensured that the whole production zinged by.”

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Best Design

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  • Jamie Harrison (design including puppets), Guy Bishop (puppets) and Simon Wilkinson (lighting), Dragon, Vox Motus, National Theatre of Scotland and the Tianjin People’s Art Theatre, China

  • WINNERChristopher Doyle and Shiona McCubbin (cinematographers), Mike Brookes (lighting designer) and Stewart Laing, Nick Millar, Robbie Thomson and Jack Wrigley (designers), Paul Bright’s Confessions of a Justified Sinne, Untitled Projects in co-production with the National Theatre of Scotland, Tramway and Summerhall

  • Francis O’Connor (set and costumes) and Chris Davey (lighting), Private Lives, Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh 

  • Shona Reppe (set), Andy Manley (set) and Sergey Jakovsky (lighting), Huff, Shona Reppe and Andy Manley, produced by Catherine Wheels Theatre Company

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“A unique combination of film, still photography, eclectic exhibits, documentation, interviews and sculpture created the elaborate re-imagining of one man’s radical theatrical vision that is Paul Bright’s Confessions of a Justified Sinner.”

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Best Music and Sound

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  • Harry Ward (musical direction), Andrew Cowan (sound design) and Angela Darcy (performer), Janis Joplin: Full Tilt, A Play, a Pie and a Pint 

  • WINNERJames Fortune and the band, Mark Melville and Andrew Kirkby, The Beautiful Cosmos of Ivor Cutler, Vanishing Point and the National Theatre of Scotland presented in association with Eden Court

  • Nikola Kodjabashia, Crime and Punishment, Citizens Theatre, Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse and Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh

  • Oliver Searle (composer), Nichola Scrutton (sound artist), Matt Regan (choir master), Theology, Martin O’Connor, produced by the Arches

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“James Fortune and the band not only orchestrated Ivor Cutler’s minimal songs into complex arrangements, they were involved in shaping the play’s characterisation of this remarkable musician. Whether finding the hidden klezmer or rocking a samba, the music drove the celebratory, playful energy of this Beautiful Cosmos.”

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Best Technical Presentation

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  • Crime and Punishment, Citizens Theatre, Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse and Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh

  • WINNERDragon, Vox Motus, National Theatre of Scotland and the Tianjin People’s Art Theatre, China

  • Leaving Planet Earth, Grid Iron and Edinburgh International Festival in association with University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh Napier University, Edinburgh International Climbing Arena and Edinburgh International Conference Centre

  • Wendy Hoose, Birds of Paradise Theatre Company and Random Accomplice

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“Dragon’s visual fireworks were made possible by impeccable technical support: if everything did not come together perfectly, at exactly the right moment, then the show would simply not have worked.”

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Best Production for Children and Young People

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  • Dragon, Vox Motus, National Theatre of Scotland and the Tianjin People’s Art Theatre, China

  • The Edibles, Grinagog Theatre

  • WINNERHuff, Shona Reppe and Andy Manley, produced by Catherine Wheels Theatre Company 

  • The Secret Life of Suitcases, Ailie Cohen Puppet Maker and Unicorn in association with Platform

 

“Huff took that old, familiar cautionary tale of The Three Little Pigs and wove it into a walk-round installation where each room allowed youngsters to make a hands-on discovery of the story for themselves. Scary, funny, brilliantly inventive – and a ground-breaking world away from the sit-look-listen format of conventional theatre.”

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Best New Play

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  • Pamela Carter, Paul Bright’s Confessions of a Justified Sinner, Untitled Projects in co-production with the National Theatre of Scotland, Tramway and Summerhall

  • Oliver Emanuel, Dragon, Vox Motus, National Theatre of Scotland and the Tianjin People’s Art Theatre, China

  • WINNERDavid Harrower, Ciara, Traverse Theatre Company and Datum Point Productions

  • Johnny McKnight, A Perfect Stroke, A Play, a Pie and a Pint presented by the Traverse Theatre Company 

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“Ciara wasn’t just a fitting theatrical celebration of the Traverse’s 50th anniversary but also a showcase for Scottish writing at its best: a localised love letter to Scotland (particularly Glasgow) with rich language, a captivating plot and an equal balance of the dramatic and the comedic. David Harrower’s one-act monologue is compelling, beautiful and grotesque in equal measures while introducing audiences to an unforgettable character."

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Best Production

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  • The Beautiful Cosmos of Ivor Cutler, Vanishing Point and the National Theatre of Scotland presented in association with Eden Court

  • WINNERCrime and Punishment, Citizens Theatre, Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse and Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh 

  • Huff, Shona Reppe and Andy Manley, produced by Catherine Wheels Theatre Company 

  • Paul Bright’s Confessions of a Justified Sinner, Untitled Projects in co-production with the National Theatre of Scotland, Tramway and Summerhall

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“Against formidable competition, Crime and Punishment was the production the judges returned to again and again. There was the inspired adaptation by Chris Hannan which gave dramatic shape to a complex novel. There was the thrilling central performance by Adam Best as a Hamlet-like Raskolnikov, supported by a vigorous ten-strong ensemble. There was the excellent percussive score by Nikola Kodjabashia, the stripped-back set by Colin Richmond and bold lighting by Chris Davey. And all of this was marshalled with intelligence, flair and tremendous attention to detail by director Dominic Hill to create a consummate piece of theatre.”

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The CATS judging panel for 2014 was made up of: Mary Brennan (The Herald), Irene Brown (edinburghguide.com), Mark Brown (The Sunday Herald and the Daily Telegraph), Anna Burnside (freelance), 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

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