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CRITICS' AWARDS FOR THEATRE IN SCOTLAND
Winners & Nominees for the CATS Awards 2024
Celebrating Extraordinary Achievements
The 2024 CATS winners were announced at the Theatre Royal, Glasgow on Sunday 16 June. Special guest presenter was award-winning writer and broadcaster Damian Barr.
Here are the winners and nominees for the Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland 2024.
Guest Presenter, Damian Barr
Outstanding Performance
Two Winners
Darren Brownlie
Meet Me at The Knob
A Play, a Pie and a Pint
Image © Tommy Ga Ken Wan
A Play, a Pie and a Pint
Image © Tommy Ga Ken Wan
Nicole Cooper
The Fool in Lear’s Fool
Bard in the Botanics
Image © Tommy Ga Ken Wan
Bard in the Botanics
Image © Tommy Ga Ken Wan
Blythe Duff
Mrs Jarrett in Escaped Alone
Tron Theatre
Image © Mihaela Bodlovic
Tron Theatre
Image © Mihaela Bodlovic
Paul McCole
Dion in The Sheriff of Kalamaki
A Play, A Pie and A Pint
Image © Tommy Ga Ken Wan
“Paul McCole has a lot to do as Dion in the Sheriff of Kalamaki. He is gallus and vulnerable at the same time, his Glaswegian charisma hiding quiet desperation. He squeezed a good deal of nuance and emotion into an hour-long performance.”
Anna Burnside of Across the Arts and Corr Blimey!
A Play, A Pie and A Pint
Image © Tommy Ga Ken Wan
“Paul McCole has a lot to do as Dion in the Sheriff of Kalamaki. He is gallus and vulnerable at the same time, his Glaswegian charisma hiding quiet desperation. He squeezed a good deal of nuance and emotion into an hour-long performance.”
Anna Burnside of Across the Arts and Corr Blimey!
Gary McNair
Various in Dear Billy
National Theatre of Scotland
Image © Sally Jubb
National Theatre of Scotland
Image © Sally Jubb
Gill Robertson
Various in Lightning Ridge
Catherine Wheels
Image © Brian Hartley
“Gill Robertson’s performance in Lightning Ridge was remarkable—a barnstorming piece of storytelling that had an equal balance of humour and empathy,” “Robertson not only told the story well but conjured a huge cast of characters—all brought to vivid life within the imagination of the audience through her wonderful use of words and physicality.”
Michael Cox of Across the Arts
Catherine Wheels
Image © Brian Hartley
“Gill Robertson’s performance in Lightning Ridge was remarkable—a barnstorming piece of storytelling that had an equal balance of humour and empathy,” “Robertson not only told the story well but conjured a huge cast of characters—all brought to vivid life within the imagination of the audience through her wonderful use of words and physicality.”
Michael Cox of Across the Arts
Alan Steele
Falstaff in Henry IV Parts I & II
Bard in the Botanics
Image © Tommy Ga Ken Wan
Bard in the Botanics
Image © Tommy Ga Ken Wan
Kirsty Stuart
Blanche in A Streetcar Named Desire
Pitlochry Festival Theatre
Image © Frazer Band
Pitlochry Festival Theatre
Image © Frazer Band
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Best Ensemble
Escaped Alone
Tron Theatre
Image © Mihaela Bodlovic
“After a season in which high-quality ensemble pieces dominated stages, where flourishing talents met with Scotland’s established greats, the competition for Best Ensemble was fierce. But it was our industry' most resilient and admired performers who deservingly claim the award for their performances in the Scottish premiere of Caryl Churchill’s Escaped Alone at The Tron Theatre. Anyone of the four-strong cast captures the undeniable skill and prestige of our theatres: Irene MacDougall, Joanna Tope, Anne Kidd, and Outstanding Performance nominee Blythe Duff. Not a word is wasted from a cast who naturally work from one another to enhance their performances, synergising and building the slick and scrupulously crafted script into a mighty crescendo of intimate and global catastrophe which shows emerging talents just how it’s done.”
Image © Mihaela Bodlovic
“After a season in which high-quality ensemble pieces dominated stages, where flourishing talents met with Scotland’s established greats, the competition for Best Ensemble was fierce. But it was our industry' most resilient and admired performers who deservingly claim the award for their performances in the Scottish premiere of Caryl Churchill’s Escaped Alone at The Tron Theatre. Anyone of the four-strong cast captures the undeniable skill and prestige of our theatres: Irene MacDougall, Joanna Tope, Anne Kidd, and Outstanding Performance nominee Blythe Duff. Not a word is wasted from a cast who naturally work from one another to enhance their performances, synergising and building the slick and scrupulously crafted script into a mighty crescendo of intimate and global catastrophe which shows emerging talents just how it’s done.”
Same Team: A Street Soccer Story
Traverse Theatre
Image © Tommy Ga Ken Wan
Image © Tommy Ga Ken Wan
Sunset Song
Dundee Rep & Royal Lyceum Edinburgh
Image © Mihaela Bodlovic
Image © Mihaela Bodlovic
The Girls of Slender Means
Royal Lyceum Edinburgh
Image © Mihaela Bodlovic
Image © Mihaela Bodlovic
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Best Director
Bryony Shanahan
Same Team – A Street Soccer Story
Traverse Theatre
Image © Tommy Ga Ken Wan
Traverse Theatre
Image © Tommy Ga Ken Wan
Elizabeth Newman
A Streetcar Named Desire
Pitlochry Festval Theatre
Image © Fraser Band
Pitlochry Festval Theatre
Image © Fraser Band
Joanna Bowman
Escaped Alone
Tron Theatre
Image © Mihaela Bodlovic
“Joanna Bowman’s revival of Caryl Churchill’s 2016 tour-de-force powerfully caught the unnerving mix of back garden small talk and apocalyptic horror in this extraordinary one-act play. Bowman’s direction was taut, stripped back and unflashy, generously placing emphasis not only on the brilliance of the ensemble, but also the intricacies of the writing.`”
Allan Radcliffe of The Times
Tron Theatre
Image © Mihaela Bodlovic
“Joanna Bowman’s revival of Caryl Churchill’s 2016 tour-de-force powerfully caught the unnerving mix of back garden small talk and apocalyptic horror in this extraordinary one-act play. Bowman’s direction was taut, stripped back and unflashy, generously placing emphasis not only on the brilliance of the ensemble, but also the intricacies of the writing.`”
Allan Radcliffe of The Times
Joe Douglas
Dear Billy
National Theatre of Scotland
Image © Sally Jubb
National Theatre of Scotland
Image © Sally Jubb
Best Design
Emma Bailey and Mark Henderson
Emma Bailey (set & costume) and Mark Henderson (lighting).
Anna Karenina
Royal Lyceum
Image © Robbie McFadzean
"As well as being impressive on its own terms, the design of the Lyceum’sAnna Karenina helped to knit the whole production together. The set and costumes of Emma Bailey, and Mark Henderson’s lighting, proved that intelligent, sympathetic and creative design can be as central as any dialogue to the stage adaptation of a novel. Indeed, the design of this production took a central role in the storytelling.The versatile minimalist set, with its central ominous spiky spiral chandelier, imposed without ever being fussy or detracting from the action."
Hugh Simpson of All Edinburgh Theatre
Anna Karenina
Royal Lyceum
Image © Robbie McFadzean
"As well as being impressive on its own terms, the design of the Lyceum’sAnna Karenina helped to knit the whole production together. The set and costumes of Emma Bailey, and Mark Henderson’s lighting, proved that intelligent, sympathetic and creative design can be as central as any dialogue to the stage adaptation of a novel. Indeed, the design of this production took a central role in the storytelling.The versatile minimalist set, with its central ominous spiky spiral chandelier, imposed without ever being fussy or detracting from the action."
Hugh Simpson of All Edinburgh Theatre
Katy Rae Wilson and Michaella Fee
Katy Rae Wilson (Set Design) Michaella Fee (Lighting Design)
Ginger - Tortoise In A Nutshell in association with Platform and Lyth Arts Centre.
Image © Mihaela Bodlovic
Ginger - Tortoise In A Nutshell in association with Platform and Lyth Arts Centre.
Image © Mihaela Bodlovic
Alisa Kalyanova, Simon Wilkinson, Ellie Thompson and Mark Melville
Alisa Kalyanova (Set and Costume); Simon Wilkinson (Lighting); Ellie Thompson Video & Projection Design; Mark Melville (Sound Design)
Love the Sinner - Vanishing Point and Imogen Stirling
Image © Andy Ross
Love the Sinner - Vanishing Point and Imogen Stirling
Image © Andy Ross
Arran Howie and Simon Wilkinson
Arran Howie (Designer), Simon Wilkinson (Lighting & Video Designer)
Ragnarok - Tortoise in a Nutshell co-production with Figurteatret i Nordland and in association with MacRobert Arts Centre
Image © Mihaela Bodlovic
Ragnarok - Tortoise in a Nutshell co-production with Figurteatret i Nordland and in association with MacRobert Arts Centre
Image © Mihaela Bodlovic
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