Edinburgh hits high in CATS shortlist
Critics Awards for Theatre in Scotland nominations announced
Best actor nominee Scott Reid in A Perfect Stroke with Anita Vettesse.
By Thom Dibdin
Edinburgh venues and companies are involved in over half the nominations in the shortlist for the annual Critics Awards for Theatre in Scotland, announced today (Thursday 8 May).
Of the venues, two Lyceum productions, A Long Days Journey Into Night and Private Lives, get a nomination each, while its Citizens co-production Crime and Punishment gets six.
The Traverse production, Ciara, has three nominations and the Play Pie and a Pint co-production of A Perfect Stroke has two.
Summerhall is credited as a co-producer in the four-times nominated Paul Bright’s Confessions of a Justified Sinner from Untitled Projects with the National Theatre of Scotland and Tramway.
Just two Edinburgh-based companies get nominations, however. Catherine Wheels is producer of Huff, by Shona Reppe and Andy Manley, which gets three nominations. And Grid Iron is nominated for its big EIF production Leaving Planet Earth.
The nominations at the Traverse for Ciara are particularly poignant. Performer Blythe Duff, who is nominated in the best Female Performance category had her first job at the theatre in 1983. And writer David Harrower’s first play, Knives In Hens was produced by the Traverse Theatre in 1995.
Linda Crooks, Executive Producer at the Traverse told Æ: “The Traverse Theatre has been a place where talent starts its journey, something true for both Blythe Duff and David Harrower. It is brilliant to see both these household names alongside that of Scott Reid as he receives his first CATS nomination, representing the next generation of Scottish talent.”
Reid, who graduated from the RCS in 2013, has been nominated for his role as Thomas in the Play Pie and a Pint co-production of A Perfect Stroke, directed by Amanda Gaughan. Writer Johnny McKnight is also recognised as the play is up for Best New Play.
Crooks added: “Both nominations for this play demonstrate the continued impact of A Play, A Pie and A Pint in Scottish theatre. We are, of course, particularly overjoyed that Orla O’Loughlin’s work on Ciara has been recognised after this piece has gone from strength to strength since debuting in August 2013.”
The awards are given across ten categories, from best actor, best actress and best ensemble, through technical awards to best show for children, best new play and best production over all. They are chosen by 13 Scottish theatre critics who make four nominations to each category in the shortlist.
Nearly all of the 19 different productions which received one or more nominations has played Edinburgh. Only four have not.
Of the productions touring to Edinburgh, the two most nominated are Dragon, from the NTS and Vox Motus which toured to the Traverse, with five nominations, and the NTS and Vanishing Point co-production of The Beautiful Cosmos of Ivor Cutler, which was also at the Traverse with four nominations.
A further five touring productions have one nominations each. HeLa, which was at Summerhall during the fringe, receives a best female performer nomination for Adura Onashile. The Edibles from Grinagog and The Secret Life of Suitcases from Ailie Cohen, are both nominated in the Best Theatre of Children and Young People category.
Jimmy Chisholm is up for best male actor, for his performance in The Collection from Rapture Theatre, seen at the Traverse last year. And Wendy Hoose, recently seen at the Festival Theatre Studio, written by Johnny McKnight and produced with Birds of Paradise Theatre Company, is up for Best Technical Presentation.
The 2014 CATS Awards will be presented at the Citizens Theatre in Glasgow on the afternoon of Sunday 8 June. Tickets priced £15/£10 (students) are available from the box office, by telephone on 0141 429 0022 and online at www.citz.co.uk.
BEST MALE PERFORMANCE:
Adam Best (Raskolnikov), Crime and Punishment, Citizens Theatre, Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse and Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh
Jimmy Chisholm (Bob Lawson), The Collection, Rapture Theatre in association with the Beacon Greenock
Sandy Grierson (Ivor Cutler), The Beautiful Cosmos of Ivor Cutler, Vanishing Point and the National Theatre of Scotland presented in association with Eden Court
Scott Reid (Thomas), A Perfect Stroke, A Play, a Pie and a Pint presented by the Traverse Theatre Company
BEST FEMALE PERFORMANCE, sponsored by STV:
Rebecca Benson (Eli), Let the Right One In, National Theatre of Scotland by arrangement with Marla Rubin Productions Ltd and Bill Kenwright, in association with Dundee Rep
Elicia Daly (Phyllis King), The Beautiful Cosmos of Ivor Cutler, Vanishing Point and the National Theatre of Scotland presented in association with Eden Court
Blythe Duff (Ciara), Ciara, Traverse Theatre Company and Datum Point Productions
Adura Onashile (Henrietta Lacks), HeLa, Iron-Oxide
BEST ENSEMBLE, sponsored by Equity:
Crime and Punishment, Citizens Theatre, Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse and Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh
Dragon, Vox Motus, National Theatre of Scotland and the Tianjin People’s Art Theatre, China
Long Day’s Journey into Night, Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh
A Satire of the Three Estates, Historic Scotland and AandBC Theatre Company
BEST DIRECTOR:
Dominic Hill, Crime and Punishment, Citizens Theatre, Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse and Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh
Stewart Laing, Paul Bright’s Confessions of a Justified Sinner, Untitled Projects in co-production with the National Theatre of Scotland, Tramway and Summerhall
Orla O’Loughlin, Ciara, Traverse Theatre Company and Datum Point Productions
John Tiffany, Let the Right One In, National Theatre of Scotland by arrangement with Marla Rubin Productions Ltd and Bill Kenwright, in association with Dundee Rep
BEST DESIGN:
Jamie Harrison (designer including puppets), Guy Bishop (puppets) and Simon Wilkinson (lighting), Dragon, Vox Motus, National Theatre of Scotland and the Tianjin People’s Art Theatre, China
Christopher Doyle and Shiona McCubbin (cinematographers), Mike Brookes (lighting designer) and Stewart Laing, Nick Millar, Robbie Thomson and Jack Wrigley (designers), Paul Bright’s Confessions of a Justified Sinner, Untitled Projects in co-production with the National Theatre of Scotland, Tramway and Summerhall
Francis O’Connor (set and costumes) and Chris Davey (lighting), Private Lives, Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh
Shona Reppe (designer), Andy Manley (designer) and Sergey Jakovsky (lighting), Huff, Shona Reppe and Andy Manley, produced by Catherine Wheels Theatre Company
BEST MUSIC AND SOUND:
Cora Bissett, Angela Darcy and the band,Janis Joplin: Full Tilt, A Play, a Pie and a Pint
James Fortune, Mark Melville and the band, The Beautiful Cosmos of Ivor Cutler, Vanishing Point and the National Theatre of Scotland presented in association with Eden Court
Nikola Kodjabashia,Crime and Punishment, Citizens Theatre, Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse and Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh
Oliver Searle (composer), Nichola Scrutton (sound artist), Matt Regan (choir master), Theology, the Arches
BEST TECHNICAL PRESENTATION, sponsored by Northern Light:
Crime and Punishment, Citizens Theatre, Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse and Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh
Dragon, Vox Motus, National Theatre of Scotland and the Tianjin People’s Art Theatre, China
Leaving Planet Earth, Grid Iron at Edinburgh International Festival. In association with University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh Napier University, Edinburgh International Climbing Arena and Edinburgh International Conference Centre.
Wendy Hoose, Birds of Paradise Theatre Company and Random Accomplice
BEST PRODUCTION FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE:
Dragon, Vox Motus, National Theatre of Scotland and the Tianjin People’s Art Theatre, China
The Edibles, Grinagog Theatre
Huff, Shona Reppe and Andy Manley, produced by Catherine Wheels Theatre Company
The Secret Life of Suitcases, an Ailie Cohen Puppet Maker/Unicorn Production in association with Platform
BEST NEW PLAY, sponsored by Robertson Taylor W&P Longreach – Theatre Insurance Brokers:
Pamela Carter, Paul Bright’s Confessions of a Justified Sinner, Untitled Projects in co-production with the National Theatre of Scotland, Tramway and Summerhall
Oliver Emanuel, Dragon, National Theatre of Scotland and the Tianjin People’s Art Theatre, China
David Harrower, Ciara, Traverse Theatre Company and Datum Point Productions
Johnny McKnight, A Perfect Stroke, A Play, a Pie and a Pint presented by the Traverse Theatre Company
BEST PRODUCTION:
The Beautiful Cosmos of Ivor Cutler, Vanishing Point and the National Theatre of Scotland presented in association with Eden Court
Crime and Punishment, Citizens Theatre, Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse and Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh
Huff, Shona Reppe and Andy Manley, produced by Catherine Wheels Theatre Company
Paul Bright’s Confessions of a Justified Sinner, Untitled Projects in co-production with the National Theatre of Scotland, Tramway and Summerhall
ENDS
