Announcements were made today on the nominations for the 2015 Critics' Awards for Theatre in Scotland and the shortlist includes six different Royal Lyceum productions that appear in eight of the ten award categories giving a total of 17 nominations. And following the success of Paul Bright’s Confessions of a Justified Sinner in the 2014 CATS, Glasgow based Untitled Projects has four nominations for Slope, a co-production with KILTR, Citizens Theatre and Traverse Theatre Company.
The six Royal Lyceum Theatre productions recognised in the 2015 CATS are Bondagers, The Caucasian Chalk Circle, Faith Healer, Hedda Gabler, Kill Johnny Glendenning and The Venetian Twins, with three of them being shortlisted for the Best Production Award and sees Amy Manson picking up her third CATS nomination for her role as Grusha in The Caucasian Chalk Circle .
CATS co-convenor Mark Fisher says, “As the Royal Lyceum enters its 50th year, it is particularly apt that the company has attracted such a wealth of nominations for its recent season in which it fired on all cylinders…”
Commenting on the success of the theatre’s productions, Artistic Director Mark Thomson said, "The company and I are thrilled that so many of our productions have been celebrated by the CATS Awards this year... It’s a wonderfully rewarding finale to a year where everyone who works here, the artists and staff have journeyed with creativity and hard work on some amazing pieces so that the people of Edinburgh and beyond can have great nights out at the theatre.”
The quality of work produced in Scotland by and for children and young people was also highlighted with Glasgow-based Junction 25 being awarded the special CATS' Whiskers accolade for ten remarkable years of creativity. This is the second year in a row that the special award has been given to an organisation with young people at its heart, following Imaginate Festival’s award last year during its 25th anniversary. Also acknowledging quality work for young people, Catherine Wheels' CATS-nominated shows has reached 11 with 4 nods for The Voice Thief in this year's shortlists.
CATS co-convenor Joyce McMillan says, “Theatre by and for children and young people continues to grow in quality and quantity with Catherine Wheels this year adding another four nominations to its tally. We are also delighted to present our special CATS' Whiskers Award to Junction 25. Since it was set up 10 years ago by Tashi Gore and Jess Thorpe, with the support of former Tramway producer Steve Slater, it has grown into one of the most critically acclaimed youth theatre companies in the UK. Junction's work has the young people at the heart of its creative process. The result is a theatre which gives powerful insights into teenage experience, not only for other young people, but for adult audiences, too.”
This year Young Scot will come on board as a sponsor of the Best Production for Children and Young People Award with Guitar sponsoring the Best Music and Sound Award. These join STV (Best Female Performance), Equity (Best Ensemble) and Robertson Taylor W&P Longreach – Theatre Insurance Brokers (Best New Play). The awards are also supported by BBC Scotland Radio Drama, the Mackintosh Foundation and The List.
CATS co – convenors Joyce McMillan and Mark Fisher say, “We are delighted that Young Scot and Guitar have come on board this year as award sponsors and are grateful for the continuing support of all our event and category sponsors. Their contribution enables us to stage our annual celebration of Scottish theatre and the vital contribution that it makes to the cultural life of our nation.”
In what is a great recognition of the continuing contribution of the late David McLennan’s ground-breaking initiative to Scottish theatre, with 78 new plays being produced in the year from May 2014–April 2015, Edinburgh’s Traverse Theatre and Glasgow’s A Play, A Pie and A Pint have jointly picked up two nominations in the best new play category in 2015 and Keith Fleming is nominated for Best Male performance in The Call of the Wild, A Play, a Pie and a Pint, Glasgow.
“…. It’s a real privilege for the CATS judges to be able to celebrate such bold and inventive work." says CATS co-convenor Mark Fisher. And so say all of us!
The CATS Award ceremony returns to Glasgow’s Tron Theatre this year. It will be held on the afternoon of Sunday 14 June. Tickets, priced £15 available in person, by telephone on 0141 552 4267 and online via www.tron.co.uk
CATS 2015 SHORTLISTS
CATS' Whiskers
For outstanding achievement in pioneering and high-quality work by young people.
Junction 25 on its tenth anniversary.
Best Male Performance
Brian Ferguson (Hamlet), Hamlet, Citizens Theatre
Keith Fleming (Buck), The Call of the Wild, A Play, a Pie and a Pint, Glasgow
Sean O'Callaghan (Francis Hardy), Faith Healer, Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh
Grant O'Rourke (Zanetto and Tonino), The Venetian Twins, Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh
Best Female Performance, sponsored by STV
Nicola Daley (Hedda), Hedda Gabler, Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh
Meg Fraser (Susan), Woman in Mind, Dundee Rep Ensemble and Birmingham Repertory Theatre
Jenny Hulse (Beatrice), The Voice Thief, Catherine Wheels Theatre Company
Amy Manson (Grusha), The Caucasian Chalk Circle, Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh
Best Ensemble, sponsored by Equity
Bondagers, Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh
The Caucasian Chalk Circle, Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh
The Libertine, Citizens Theatre
The Venetian Twins, Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh
Best Director
John Dove, Faith Healer, Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh
Tony Cownie, The Venetian Twins, Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh
Stewart Laing, Slope, Untitled Projects in partnership with KILTR, Citizens Theatre and Traverse Theatre Company
Mark Thomson, The Caucasian Chalk Circle, Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh
Best Design
Mike Brookes (lighting designer), Anna Chaney (cinematographer), Stewart Laing (designer) and Nick Millar (technical director), Slope, Untitled Projects in partnership with KILTR, Citizens Theatre and Traverse Theatre Company
Graham McLaren (set and costume designer), Gavin Glover (associate designer), Kai Fischer (lighting designer), The Tin Forest, National Theatre of Scotland
Karen Tennent, The Voice Thief, Catherine Wheels
Jamie Vartan (designer) and Simon Wilkinson (lighting designer), Bondagers, Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh
Best Music and Sound, sponsored by Guitar Guitar
Tyler Collins (musician), Gameli Tordzro (musician) and Matt Padden (sound design), Last Dream (On Earth), Kai Fischer in association with National Theatre of Scotland and Tron Theatre, Glasgow
Claire McKenzie (composer), The Caucasian Chalk Circle, Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh
Daniel Padden, The Pine Tree, Poggle and Me, a MacRobert Arts Centre and Barrowland Ballet co-production
Wendy Weatherby (composer and musician), Tales of a Grandson, MacRobert Arts Centre and Andy Cannon in association with the Scottish International Storytelling Festival
Best Technical Presentation
Slope, Untitled Projects in partnership with KILTR, Citizens Theatre and Traverse Theatre Company
Last Dream (On Earth), Kai Fischer in association with the National Theatre of Scotland and the Tron Theatre, Glasgow
The Tin Forest, National Theatre of Scotland
The Voice Thief, Catherine Wheels Theatre Company
Best Production for Children and Young People, sponsored by Young Scot
The Pine Tree, Poggle and Me, a MacRobert Arts Centre and Barrowland Ballet co-production
The Pokey Hat, Grinagog Theatre
Tales of a Grandson, MacRobert Arts Centre and Andy Cannon in association with the Scottish International Storytelling Festival
The Voice Thief, Catherine Wheels Theatre Company
Best New Play, sponsored by Robertson Taylor W&P Longreach – Theatre Insurance Brokers
Tony Cownie, The Venetian Twins, Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh
Andy Duffy, Crash, A Play, a Pie and a Pint staged in partnership with the Traverse Theatre Company
DC Jackson, Kill Johnny Glendenning, Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh and Citizens Theatre
Martin McCormick, Squash, A Play, a Pie and a Pint presented by the Traverse Theatre Company
Best Production
The Caucasian Chalk Circle, Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh
Faith Healer, Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh
Slope, Untitled Projects in partnership with KILTR, Citizens Theatre and Traverse Theatre Company
The Venetian Twins, Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh
The CATS judging panel for 2015 was made up of: Mary Brennan (The Herald), Irene Brown (edinburghguide.com), Mark Brown (The Sunday Herald and the Daily Telegraph), Neil Cooper (The Herald), Michael Cox (Across the Arts), Thom Dibdin (The Stage and AllEdinburghTheatre.com), Mark Fisher (The Guardian), Joyce McMillan (The Scotsman), Allan Radcliffe (The Times), Amy Taylor and (The Public Reviews and TVBomb), Gareth K Vile (The List) and Joy Watters (Across the Arts).
For further information the Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland visit:
www.criticsawards.theatrescotland.com