The Traverse Theatre is leading the field in the 2009 Critics' Awards for Theatre in Scotland (CATS). The Trav scooped eleven of the nominations in seven of the ten award categories including two for the top award, Best Production.
No fewer than three of the four nominations in the Best New Play category - Midsummer (pictured), Pornography and Cockroach - were Traverse commissions or co-commissions, underlining the importance of the Edinburgh theatre as a leading supporter of new writing in Scotland.
"The Traverse Theatre is the country's most important supporter of new dramatic writing and its success in that role is vital in creating a bright, strong future for Scottish theatre," says Joyce McMillan co-convenor of the CATS Awards
Elsewhere, the Dundee Rep, which swept the board at the 2008 Awards with its production of Peer Gynt, has another strong showing with eight nominations across five categories, including two nominations for Best Production - Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and Beauty and the Beast.
Glasgow's Citizens' garners six nominations including four for Sub Rosa, David Leddy's chilling, site-specific journey into the bowels of the celebrated Victorian theatre.
The quality of the work being presented by Scotland's touring companies was also underlined with no few than ten being recognised in this year's shortlists, ranging from Inverness-based Dogstar to Rowan Tree, which works out of the Scottish Borders.
"The nominations for the 2009 CATS Awards are a testament to the quality of work being produced across the board," adds Mark Fisher co-convenor of CATS. "That no fewer than 19 different companies, ranging from the major producing houses to touring companies, are recognised in this year's shortlists is a tangible demonstration of the growing confidence of the theatrical community across Scotland."
International in scope
The 2009 shortlists also recognise a growing internationalism in Scottish theatre with no fewer than five nominations for work produced by Scottish companies in association with international groups.
Architecting, the NTS collaboration with New York-based THE TEAM, which has just had its US Premiere, and Peter Pan, Visible Fictions co-production with Minneapolis Children's Theatre Company, each gained one nomination. Meanwhile Vanishing Point Theatre Company's Interiors - a co-production with The Traverse and the Naples Theatre Festival, which is performed by a British-Italian cast, is nominated in three categories including Best Production.
"As the critical acclaim overseas for previous CATS winners such as Black Watch and Dissocia has demonstrated, Scotland is producing work of international calibre," says Joyce McMillan. "The growing number of international collaborations, three of which are recognised in this year's awards, underscores the extent to which Scottish companies are now seen as being a major force in world theatre."
The Awards
BEST MALE PERFORMANCE:
- Andy Clark, Darren, The Ching Room, A Play, a Pie and a Pint
- Billy Mack, Morris Magellan, The Sound of My Voice, Citizens' Theatre
- Billy Seymour, schoolboy, Pornography, Traverse Theatre/Birmingham Rep
- Matthew Zajac, The Tailor of Inverness, Dogstar Theatre
BEST FEMALE PERFORMANCE:
- Cora Bissett, Helena, Midsummer, Traverse Theatre
- Irene MacDougall, Martha, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Dundee Rep
- Gabriel Quigley, Oracle and Mae, Bliss/Mud, Tron Theatre
- Gerda Stevenson, The Lasses, O', Rowan Tree Theatre
BEST DIRECTOR:
- James Brining, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Dundee Rep
- David Leddy, Sub Rosa, Fire Exit/Citizens' Theatre
- Matthew Lenton, Interiors,
Vanishing Point/Napoli Teatro Festival Italia/Mercadante Teatro Stabile
di Napoli/Traverse Theatre in association with Lyric Hammersmith and
Tron Theatre - Jemima Levick, Beauty and the Beast, Dundee Rep
BEST ENSEMBLE:
- Architecting, The TEAM/National Theatre of Scotland
- Cockroach, Traverse Theatre/National Theatre of Scotland
- The Drawer Boy, Tron Theatre
- Interiors, Vanishing Point/Napoli Teatro Festival Italia/Mercadante Teatro Stabile
di Napoli/Traverse Theatre in association with Lyric Hammersmith and
Tron Theatre
BEST NEW PLAY:
- David Leddy, Sub Rosa, Fire Exit/Citizens' Theatre
- David Greig/Gordon McIntyre, Midsummer, Traverse Theatre
- Sam Holcroft, Cockroach, Traverse Theatre/National Theatre of Scotland
- Simon Stephens, Pornography, Traverse Theatre/Birmingham Rep'
BEST PRODUCTION FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE:
- Beauty and the Beast, Dundee Rep
- Liar, TAG/Sounds of Progress
- Peter Pan, Visible Fictions/Children's Theatre Company, Minneapolis
- Rudolf, Andy Manley/MacRobert
BEST DESIGN:
- Jamie Harrison and Candice Edmunds (design), Simon Wilkinson (lighting), Anna Scatola (puppet maker), Slick, Vox Motus/Tron Theatre
- Stewart Laing, Les Parents Terribles, Dundee Rep
- Alex Lowde (set) and Chris Davey (lighting), Beauty and the Beast, Dundee Rep
- Jason Southgate (set) and Graham Sutherland (lighting), The Sound of My Voice, Citizens' Theatre
BEST USE OF MUSIC AND SOUND:
- Seylan Baxter, Lillias Kinsman-Blake and Rachel Newton, The Lasses, O', Rowan Tree Theatre
- Paddy Cunneen, Waltz of the Cold Wind, A Play, a Pie and a Pint
- David Paul Jones and Zoey Van Goey, Dolls, Hush Productions/National Theatre of Scotland
- Gordon McIntyre, Midsummer, Traverse Theatre
BEST TECHNICAL PRESENTATION:
- 4.48 Psychosis, Sweetscar/Cumbernauld Theatre/Tramway
- Peeping at Bosch, Mischief La Bas/National Theatre of Scotland
- Slick, Vox Motus/Tron Theatre
- Sub Rosa, Fire Exit/Citizens' Theatre
BEST PRODUCTION:
- Beauty and the Beast, Dundee Rep
- Interiors,
Vanishing Point/Napoli Teatro Festival Italia/Mercadante Teatro Stabile
di Napoli/Traverse Theatre in association with Lyric Hammersmith and
Tron Theatre - Midsummer, Traverse Theatre
- Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Dundee Rep
- Sub Rosa, Fire Exit/Citizens' Theatre