Scottish actor, singer and presenter Clare Grogan will lead the festivities - and the revelations - as this year’s star host at the Critics Awards for Theatre in Scotland (CATS nominees).
Clare Grogan says of her appearance at the awards ceremony this Sunday: “Any opportunity I can get to support Scottish theatre is something I will take up. It was very much part of my culture growing up in Scotland. Just to be able to support that in any way is a genuine delight. It is so important to acknowledge the great work that goes into theatre.”
The bubbly star shot to fame at the age of 19 as Susan in the classic Scottish film Gregory’s Girl after being discovered in a Glasgow restaurant by Local Hero director Bill Forsyth.
From here she went on to support Siouxsie and the Banshees and came to be described as ‘the Shirley Temple of punk’ during her time fronting the band Altered Images, whose successes included 1981’s top ten hit Happy Birthday.
Since the band split in 1984, Clare has appeared in a string of television series including Taggart (BBC), Doctors (BBC), Father Ted (Hat Trick), Red Dwarf (BBC) and Skins (Company Pictures).
She has presented for VH 1 and on shows as varied as Planet Football (Channel 4) and Scottish Passport (STV). She appeared as a contestant on Masterchef (BBC), and written a book aimed at teenagers, Tallulah and the Teenstars.
In 2004, she played a Nazi officer’s wife who falls in love with a young Jewish woman in Forbidden.
Joyce McMillan, CATS co-convener adds: “We are delighted that Clare Grogan will join us at 2011’s CATS Awards as our star guest presenter. Whether Clare is appearing as an actor, singer or herself, she brings with her a wonderful generosity of spirit and openness that adds a magical dimension to Scottish theatre and entertainment."
Now in its ninth year, the CATS has become a highlight of the theatrical calendar in Scotland, celebrating the actors, directors playwrights and other artists who have made an impact in the Scottish theatre world.
Best Male Performance
- David Birrell as Sweeney Todd, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Dundee Rep Theatre
- Alex Ferns as Johnny Byrne, The Hard Man, Scottish Theatres Consortium
- Peter Forbes as Arnolphe, Educating Agnes, Royal Lyceum Theatre Company
- Ian Smith, My Hands Are Dancing But My Heart Is Cold, Ian Smith
Best Female Performance, sponsored by STV:
- Kate Dickie as Jackie, Any Given Day, Traverse Theatre Company
- Blythe Duff as Helen, Good With People, A Play, a Pie and a Pint, Paines Plough
- Gemma McElhinney as Duck, The Monster in the Hall, TAG
- Mercy Ojelade as Mary, Roadkill, Ankur Productions/Pachamama Productions
Best Ensemble, sponsored by Equity:
- Age of Arousal, Stellar Quines Theatre Company /Royal Lyceum Theatre Company
- Nothing to See Here, National Theatre of Scotland/Aberdeen City Council
- The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart, National Theatre of Scotland
- The Three Musketeers and the Princess of Spain, Traverse Theatre Company/Belgrade Theatre, Coventry/English Touring Theatre
Best Director
- Cora Bissett, Roadkill, Ankur Productions/Pachamama Productions
- James Brining, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Dundee Rep Theatre
- Muriel Romanes, Age of Arousal, Stellar Quines Theatre Company/Royal Lyceum Theatre Company
- Mark Thomson, The Importance of Being Earnest, Royal Lyceum Theatre Company
Best Design
- Janet Bird (set and costumes) and Jeanine Davies (lighting), Age of Arousal, Stellar Quines Theatre Company/Royal Lyceum Theatre Company
- Candice Edmonds and Jamie Harrison (set), The Not-So-Fatal Death of Grandpa Fredo, Vox Motus
- Shona Reppe (set and costumes) and Craig Fleming (lighting), White, Catherine Wheels Theatre Company
- Colin Richmond (set) and Chris Davey (lighting), Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Dundee Rep Theatre
Best Music and Sound
- Hilary Brooks, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Dundee Rep Theatre
- Nikola Kodjabashia, The Three Musketeers and the Princess of Spain, Traverse Theatre Company/Belgrade Theatre, Coventry/English Touring Theatre
- Alasdair Macrae, The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart, National Theatre of Scotland
- Michael John McCarthy, The Not-So-Fatal Death of Grandpa Fredo, Vox Motus
Best Technical Presentation, sponsored by Northern Light:
- The Not-So-Fatal Death of Grandpa Fredo, Vox Motus
- Orlando, Cryptic
- Roadkill, Ankur Productions/Pachamama Productions
- White, Catherine Wheels Theatre Company
Best Production for Children and Young People
- Beauty and the Beast, Citizens Theatre
- Caged, Catherine Wheels Theatre Company
- The Three Musketeers and the Princess of Spain, Traverse Theatre Company/Belgrade Theatre, Coventry/English Touring Theatre
- White, Catherine Wheels Theatre Company
Best New Play, sponsored by W&P Longreach:
- David Greig, The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart, National Theatre of Scotland
- Chris Hannan, The Three Musketeers and the Princess of Spain, Traverse Theatre Company/Belgrade Theatre, Coventry/English Touring Theatre
- Conceived by Cora Bissett, text by Stef Smith, Roadkill, Ankur Productions/Pachamama Productions
- Molly Taylor, Love Letters to the Public Transport System, National Theatre of Scotland
Best Production:
- Age of Arousal, Stellar Quines Theatre Company/Royal Lyceum Theatre Company
- Roadkill, Ankur Productions/Pachamama Productions
- The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart, National Theatre of Scotland
- Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Dundee Rep Theatre
The CATS judging panel for 2011 is made up of: Mary Brennan (The Herald), Mark Brown (The Sunday Herald and the Daily Telegraph), Neil Cooper (The Herald), Michael Cox (onstagescotland.co.uk), Robert Dawson Scott (The Times), Thom Dibdin (Edinburgh Evening News and The Stage), Mark Fisher (The Guardian), Joyce McMillan (The Scotsman), Gareth K Vile (The Skinny) and Joy Watters (The Courier).
Full events details for Critics Awards for Theatre in Scotland (CATS)