Productions in Ayr, East Lothian, Glasgow and Kirkcaldy in the frame for first Outstanding Pantomime award.

Mother Goose at Gaiety Theatre, Ayr; Peter Pan at Glasgow’s King’s Theatre; A Christmas Carol at Brunton, East Lothian; and Ya Wee Dickie McWittington at King’s Kirkcaldy have been nominated for the first Outstanding Pantomime award it was revealed today as the shortlists for the 2025 Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland were announced.

“The new Outstanding Pantomime award was, not surprisingly, hotly contested with productions from across the length and breadth of the country being considered,” says CATS co-convenor Mark Brown. “The shortlist reflects the ambition of all the productions from Glasgow’s King’s Theatre to the King’s Kirkcaldy, the Gaiety Theatre, Ayr and Brunton East Lothian, where the show certainly did go on transferring to Loretto theatre after the Brunton theatre’s enforced closure due to the discovery of RAAC.”

Mother Goose. © Tommy Ga-Ken Wan

Peter Pan. © Danny Kaan

A Christmas Carol. © Mihaela Bodlovic

Ya Wee Dickie McWhittington. © The Kings Kirkcaldy

Heading the overall nominations this year is Confessions of a Shinagawa Monkey the international co-production between Scotland’s Vanishing Point and Kanagawa Arts Theatre of Japan (in association with Tramway) based on short stories by the acclaimed author Haruki Murakami. The production was shortlisted in seven categories: Best Design, Best Director (Matthew Lenton), Best Ensemble, Best use of Sound and Music, Best Technical Presentation, Best Production and Outstanding Performance (Sandy Grierson as the eponymous monkey).

The Scottish premiere at Tron Theatre of Radiant Vermin - Philip Ridley’s wickedly comic satire about a young couple offered a ‘too-good-to-be-true’ way onto the property ladder - is shortlisted in four categories: Best Ensemble, Best Design, Best Technical and Best Production. Also shortlisted in four categories – namely, Outstanding Performance (Dawn Sievewright), Best Music and Sound, Best Technical Presentation and Best Production - is Wild Rose, Nicole Taylor’s theatrical adaptation of the acclaimed 2018 film (for which she wrote the screenplay). The acclaimed musical, which was directed by John Tiffany, premiered at the Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh in March.

June Carter Cash: The Woman, Her Music and Me, the National Theatre of Scotland and Grid Iron Theatre’s co-production about the acclaimed country artist (who was also Johnny Cash’s second wife), is nominated in three categories: Outstanding Performance (Charlene Boyd as June Carter Cash), Best Design and Best New Play. Also on three nominations are: Hedda Gabler - a new version of Ibsen’s classic by Kathy McKean staged at Bard in the Botanics – which receives nominations for Outstanding Performance (Nicole Cooper as Hedda), Best Director(Gordon Barr) and Best Production; and Pitlochry Festival Theatre’s production of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, which is shortlisted in the categories of Outstanding Performance(Kirsty Findlay as Carole King), Best Sound and Music, and Best Technical Presentation.

Charlene Boyd. © Sally Jubb

Nicole Cooper. © Tommy Ga-Ken Wan

Kirsty Findlay. © Fraser Band

Last year’s winner of the Best Director award, Joanna Bowman, is nominated once again, this year for Doubt: A Parable at Dundee Rep. She is joined by Bard in the Botanics Artistic Director, Gordon Barr (Hedda Gabler), Matthew Lenton, Artistic Director of Vanishing Point (Confessions of a Shinagawa Monkey) and Andrew Panton, Artistic Director of Dundee Rep (A History of Paper).

The five productions in the frame for the supreme award, Best Production are: Confessions of a Shinagawa Monkey, Hedda Gabler, Radiant Vermin, Wild Rose and Doubt: A Parable.

“This has been another fantastic year for theatre produced in Scotland with around 140 shows eligible for the awards,” says CATS co-convenor, Joyce McMillan. “No fewer than 25 different productions have been shortlisted reflecting the calibre of the work being staged across Scotland, from new interpretations of the classics to vibrant musicals and ground-breaking new plays, and not forgetting pantomime.”

"Scotland’s place on the international stage is also underlined this year as Scotland-based Vanishing Point and its co-producer Kanagawa Arts Theatre head the shortlists being recognised in no fewer than seven categories,” she adds.

Scotland continues to excel in commissioning and staging new writing..

“New plays are the life blood of theatre,” says Michael Cox, CATS co-convenor. “Once again we have had a year of tremendous new writing with new plays being represented across many of the award categories.”

The 2025 Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland are generously supported by:

Theatre Studies, University of Glasgow (Outstanding Performance awards), Equity (Best Ensemble), BECTU (Best Technical Presentation), Nick Hern Books (Best New Play), BB Hair Collective (Best Design), Gilded Balloon (Best Production for Children and Young People), Mackie’s (Outstanding Pantomime) and also by BBC Scotland Radio Drama.

The 2025 Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland will be presented on the afternoon of Sunday June 8 at the Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh.

Tickets for the CATS awards, priced £21 including a glass of fizz, canapes and a tub of Mackie’s ice cream, are available via https://www.traverse.co.uk/about-us/your-visit/box-office

For the first time, this year, people can also sign up via the Box Office to become “Friends of the CATS”. For £100, Friends will receive two tickets to the award ceremony, a credit in the event programme and ceremony audiovisual presentation, and further benefits to be announced as this new scheme develops.”  

CATS 2025 SHORTLIST

Outstanding Pantomime (sponsored by Mackie’s)

A Christmas Carol – The Brunton and Wonder Fools

Mother Goose – Gaiety Theatre

Peter Pan – King’s Theatre, Glasgow

Ya Wee Dickie McWhittington – The King’s Kirkcaldy

Outstanding Performance (sponsored by Theatre Studies, University of Glasgow)

Charlene Boyd (June Carter Cash: The Woman, Her Music and Me) - National Theatre of Scotland and Grid Iron

Nicole Cooper (Hedda Gabler) - Bard in the Botanics

Kirsty Findlay (Beautiful: The Carole King Musical) - Pitlochry Festival Theatre

Sandy Grierson (Confessions of a Shinagawa Monkey) - Vanishing Point and Kanagawa Arts Theatre in association with Tramway

Dani Heron (Alright Sunshine) - Tron Theatre

Jack Lowden (The Fifth Step) - National Theatre of Scotland, Neal Street, Playful Productions

Beth Marshall (Death of Salesman) - Raw Material and Trafalgar Theatre Productions

Dawn Sievewright (Wild Rose) – The Royal Lyceum Edinburgh, Caledonia Productions and Gavin Kalin

Best Ensemble

Confessions of a Shinagawa Monkey - Vanishing Point and Kanagawa Arts Theatre in association with Tramway

Radiant Vermin - Tron Theatre

So Young - Traverse Theatre, Raw Material and Citizens Theatre

The Sound of Music - Pitlochry Festival Theatre

Best Director

Gordon Barr (Hedda Gabler) - Bard in the Botanics

Joanna Bowman (Doubt: A Parable) - Dundee Rep Theatre

Matthew Lenton (Confessions of a Shinagawa Monkey) - Vanishing Point and Kanagawa Arts Theatre in association with Tramway

Andrew Panton (A History of Paper) - Dundee Rep Theatre and Traverse Theatre

Best Design (sponsored by BB Hair Collective)

Confessions of a Shinagawa Monkey, Kei Ishihara/BlankRD (scenography), Simon Wilkinson (lighting), Sacico Ito/Brucke (costumes), Eri Akamatsu/Esper (hair, wigs and make up); Ailie Cohen (puppet design and making) - Vanishing Point and Kanagawa Arts Theatre in association with Tramway

Doubt: A Parable, Jessica Worrall (sets and costumes), Derek Anderson (lighting) - Dundee Rep Theatre

June Carter Cash: The Woman, Her Music and Me, Shona Reppe (set and costume design), Elle Taylor (lighting) - National Theatre of Scotland and Grid Iron

Radiant Vermin, Kenny Miller (sets and costumes), Emma Jones (lighting) - Tron Theatre

Best Music and Sound

A History of Paper, Gareth Williams (songs), Oliver Emanuael(lyrics), Gavin Whitworth (musical direction), Ritchie Young (sound design); Facundo Mato (sound no.1) - Dundee Rep Theatre and Traverse Theatre

Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, Richard Reeday (musical direction), Hugh Barbour and Toby McFarlane (sound design) - Pitlochry Festival Theatre

Confessions of a Shinagawa Monkey, Mark Melville (sound design and composition) - Vanishing Point and Kanagawa Arts Theatre in association with Tramway

Wild Rose, Sarah Travis and Davey Anderson (music supervision, orchestration and arrangements), Tony Gayle (sound design) - The Royal Lyceum Edinburgh, Caledonia Productions and Gavin Kalin

Best Technical Presentation (sponsored by BECTU)

Beautiful: The Carole King Musical - Pitlochry Festival Theatre

Confessions of a Shinagawa Monkey - Vanishing Point and Kanagawa Arts Theatre in association with Tramway

Radiant Vermin - Tron Theatre

Wild Rose - The Royal Lyceum Edinburgh, Caledonia Productions and Gavin Kalin

Best Production for Children and Young People (sponsored by Gilded Balloon)

So Far So Good - Superfan

Special Delivery - Scottish Opera, Cumbernauld Theatre and Visible Fictions

The Yellow Canary - Glass Performance

Treasure Island - Scottish Theatre Producers (originally produced by Cumbernauld Theatre and Visible

Fictions)

Best New Play (sponsored by Nick Hern Books )

Charlene Boyd, June Carter Cash: The Woman, Her Music and Me - National Theatre of Scotland and Grid Iron Theatre Company

Kieran Hurley & Gary McNair, VL - Francesca Moody Productions

Douglas Maxwell, So Young - Traverse Theatre, Raw Material and Citizens Theatre

Martin O’Connor, Through the Shortbread Tin - National Theatre of Scotland

Best Production

Confessions of a Shinagawa Monkey - Vanishing Point and Kanagawa Arts Theatre in association with Tramway

Doubt: A Parable - Dundee Rep Theatre

Hedda Gabler - Bard in the Botanics

Radiant Vermin - Tron Theatre

Wild Rose - The Royal Lyceum Edinburgh, Caledonia Productions and Gavin Kalin

For further information contact:

Lesley Booth, 0779 941 4474 / lesley@newcenturypr.com