Alan Cumming to present Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland

Press release 23 May 2012

Alan Cumming, the star of X Men, Spy Kids and the James Bond movie Golden Eye, will present the 10th annual Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland at the Tron Theatre in Glasgow on Sunday 10th June, 2012.

Joyce McMillan and Mark Fisher, co-conveners of the CATS, said: “Alan Cumming is part of a game-changing generation of Scottish artists who have helped to transform Scotland’s image on the international stage, and we are thrilled that he will be joining us as our guest presenter. Many of the CATS judges have been following him since his early dazzling work at the RSAMD, and have enjoyed his performances ever since, from the hilarity of Victor and Barry to the Greek tragedy of the National Theatre of Scotland’s The Bacchae. We’re delighted that he’ll be part of our 2012 celebration of theatre in Scotland.”

Alan Cumming in Macbeth

In between rehearsals for National Theatre of Scotland’s Macbeth which opens at Tramway, Glasgow on Wednesday 13th June, Alan Cumming commented: “I’m looking forward to catching up with old friends, and celebrating another great year of Scottish theatre at the Tron Theatre for the CATS awards.”

Originally from Aberfeldy and now based in New York, Mr Cumming is working with directors John Tiffany and Andrew Goldberg to create his own solo multimedia version of this chilling tale.

The National Theatre of Scotland has 12 nominations for awards spread across seven different productions. Its single most nominated production is Graham McLaren’s expressionist version of A Christmas Carol. Its bold Five Minute Theatre experiment, 24 hours of short plays streamed live over the internet to celebrate its fifth birthday last summer has also been nominated for best technical presentation.

Other heavily fancied shows include Dundee Rep’s Further than the Furthest Thing and Glasgow’s Citizens Theatre’s recent production of Harold Pinter’s Betrayal.

However, the nominations have also seen first time entries for Bard in the Botanics (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Shona Reppe Puppets (The Curious Scrapbook of Josephine Bean), Magnetic North (Pass the Spoon), Theatre Jezebel (Days of Wine and Roses) and Frozen Charlotte (Too Many Penguins).

In addition, Rachel O’Riordan, who only took over as artistic director at Perth Theatre last summer, saw her production of Frank McGuinness’ Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me pick up three nominations for Best Actor, Best Ensemble and Best Director.

The CATS celebrated its 10th year by announcing a new sponsorship deal with BBC Scotland’s Radio Drama department which joins a roster of sponsors including STV, W&P Longreach–Theatre Insurance Brokers, Equity, the actors union and Northern Light, the specialist theatre suppliers.

It also announced the introduction of a new occasional award, known as the CATS Whiskers which will be given in recognition of an outstanding contribution to theatre in Scotland that isn’t already reflected in the other awards. The winner will be announced on Monday 4th June, 2012.

Of the 202 productions considered for nomination, 123 were eligible for Best New Play and 36 were created for children and young people. A total of 23 shows have reached the final nominations stage and the winners will be announced at the CATS Awards ceremony on Sunday 10th June, 2012 at Glasgow’s Tron Theatre.