Muriel Romanes

The 2016 CATS Whiskers award went to Muriel Romanes in recognition of her far-ranging achievements with Stellar Quines Theatre Company, first as a member of the cooperative and then its first artistic director, a post she held until April of this year.

Stellar Quines originally came into being in 1993, with Muriel performing in its first production, Night Sky.·Its aim was to bring the energy, experience and perspective of women centre-stage, but her vision and determination have also been a tremendous force in Scottish theatre-making as a whole. Countless new plays have been staged because of her initiatives at Stellar Quines. Small and not so small venues all across Scotland have seen live theatre – and quality live theatre at that – because Stellar Quines put them on its touring map. In the years that Muriel Romanes has been at the helm, Stellar Quines has withstood financial hardships and shifts in arts policy-making, has stayed vital and aspirational when other small, independent companies have, because of those circumstances, gone under. Her unstinting dedication to theatre-making shines out as an inspiration to us all.