The CATS have got the cream

Now in its 11th year, the Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland (CATS) has made this year’s announcement of nominations.

The Awards are open to any professional theatre work produced in Scotland between May 1 2012 and 30 April 2013, and around 180 new productions that opened in the year were considered, 106 of which were new plays/scripts and 36 productions created for children and young people.

As a tremendous testament to the high standard of work being produced throughout the country, as many as 27 different productions staged from Shetland to the Borders have made the CATS shortlists this year.

As CATS co-convenor, Joyce McMillan says, “This has been a terrific year for some of Scotland's best-known theatre companies, with the Lyceum, the Citizens, the National Theatre of Scotland and the Traverse leading a very strong field. There are signs that the trend towards co-productions between major companies is producing shows of outstanding scale and quality.”

“It's also a real pleasure, though, to be able to welcome many newcomers to the 2013 nominations list, including the Gilded Balloon in Edinburgh, Random Accomplice in Glasgow, the new Firebrand Theatre Company based in the Borders, and the brilliant dance artist and theatremaker Claire Cunningham. With more than twenty companies represented on our nominations list . . . we are delighted to be able to reflect the astonishing diversity and range of Scotland's theatre scene, and the growing importance of new work in our theatre life.”

“Almost half of our 2013 nominations involve brand new work created by Scottish-based theatre artists over the last year. That is a tremendous tribute to the vitality of Scotland's theatre scene, and to its terrific future potential."

There are eight fine actors in the frame for the Best Male and Best Female Performance Awards, and Dominic Hill has been nominated with three others as Best Director, making him the most recognised director since the establishment of CATS in 2002.

Looking to the future, the shortlist for this year’s Best Show for Children and Young People Award once again demonstrates the importance of Scotland’s innovative contribution to theatre. The standard of work was so high this year that the CATS judging panel took the rare step of including five productions on the short list for Best Production (see full nomination list below.)

Chiming with its 50th anniversary, the Traverse Theatre will play host to this year’s CATS Awards ceremony. As CATS co-convenor, Mark Fisher says, “The Traverse has been a trailblazer in commissioning and showcasing new work from Scottish playwrights over the half a century. It is no coincidence that three of the nominations for Best New Play in the 2013 CATS should be Traverse productions or co-productions.”

The 2013 CATS Awards will be presented at the Traverse in Edinburgh on the afternoon of Sunday 9 June.

Tickets priced £15 (includes glass of fizz in the bar before the ceremony, the CATS Awards presentation - with celebrity host - and post ceremony party marking the Traverse Theatre’s 50th anniversary) available in person at the Box Office, by telephone on 0131 228 1404 and online at www.traverse.co.uk.

Party, party!!

SHORTLISTS FOR THE 2013 CATS BEST MALE PERFORMANCE

Alan Cumming (all parts), Macbeth, National Theatre of Scotland Gerard Murphy (Krapp), Krapp's Last Tape, Citizens Theatre Company, Glasgow Grant O'Rourke (Mike Daisey), The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs, Gilded Balloon, Edinburgh Iain Robertson (Eddie), Takin' Over the Asylum, a co-production between the Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh and the Citizens Theatre, Glasgow

BEST FEMALE PERFORMANCE sponsored by STV
Maureen Beattie (Narrator), The List, Stellar Quines, Edinburgh

Eileen Walsh (Sandra), Quiz Show, Traverse Theatre Company, Edinburgh Blythe Duff (Fay Black), Iron, Firebrand Theatre Company in association with Heart of Hawick Amy Manson (Nora Vaughan), A Doll's House, a co-production between the National Theatre of Scotland and the Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh

BEST ENSEMBLE sponsored by Equity

The Guid Sisters, a co-production between the Royal Lyceum Theatre Company, Edinburgh and the National Theatre of Scotland The Seafarer, a co-production between Perth Theatre and the Lyric Theatre, Belfast Takin' Over the Asylum, a co-production between the Royal Lyceum Theatre Company, Edinburgh and the Citizens Theatre, Glasgow Time and the Conways, a co-production between the Royal Lyceum Theatre Company, Edinburgh and Dundee Rep Ensemble

BEST DIRECTOR

Dominic Hill, Krapp's Last Tape/Footfalls, Citizens Theatre Company, Glasgow Stewart Laing, The Maids, Citizens Theatre Company, Glasgow Rachel O'Riordan, The Seafarer, a co-production between Perth Theatre and the Lyric Theatre, Belfast Hamish Pirie, Quiz Show, Traverse Theatre Company, Edinburgh

BEST DESIGN

Kai Fischer (set), Entartet, Kai Fischer developed in association with Vanishing Point, Glasgow and the CCA, Glasgow Ti Green (set) and Mark Doubleday (lighting), Time and the Conways, a co-production between the Royal Lyceum Theatre Company, Edinburgh and Dundee Rep Ensemble Rachana Jadhav (set), Karsten Tinapp (lighting), Kevin Pollard (costume) and Gail Sneddon (concept and video), Ménage à Trois, Claire Cunningham in partnership with the National Theatre of Scotland Charlotte Lane (set), Sergey Jakovsky (lighting), Ulysses, Tron Theatre Company, Glasgow in association with Project Arts Centre, Dublin and the Everyman, Cork

BEST MUSIC AND SOUND

Hilary Brooks, Irving Berlin's White Christmas: The Musical, Pitlochry Festival Theatre Hugh Nankivell, Ignition, National Theatre of Scotland in association with Shetland Arts John Sampson, A Taste of Honey, Royal Lyceum Theatre Company, Edinburgh Greg Sinclair, Sonata for a Man and a Boy, Greg Sinclair and the macrobert, Stirling

BEST TECHNICAL PRESENTATION sponsored by Northern Light

Wonderland, a co-production between Vanishing Point, Glasgow, Fondazione Campagnia Dei Festival - Napoli Teatro Festival Italia and Tramway, Glasgow in association with Eden Court, Inverness Ménage à Trois, Claire Cunningham in partnership with the National Theatre of Scotland The Incredible Adventures of See Thru Sam, Random Accomplice, Glasgow The Guid Sisters, a co-production between the Royal Lyceum Theatre Company, Edinburgh and the National Theatre of Scotland

BEST SHOW FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE

The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish, National Theatre of Scotland The Incredible Adventures of See Thru Sam, Random Accomplice, Sonata for a Man and a Boy, Greg Sinclair and the macrobert, Stirling The Ugly Duckling, created by Andy Manley, a co-production between the Arches, Glasgow and Catherine Wheels

BEST NEW PLAY sponsored by W&P Longreach – Theatre Insurance Brokers

Rob Drummond, Quiz Show, Traverse Theatre Company, Edinburgh Linda McLean, Sex & God, Magnetic North, produced in association with Platform, Glasgow Douglas Maxwell, A Respectable Widow Takes to Vulgarity, a co-production between A Play, a Pie and a Pint, Glasgow and the Traverse Theatre Company, Edinburgh Morna Pearson, The Artist Man and the Mother Woman, Traverse Theatre Company, Edinburgh

BEST PRODUCTION

Irving Berlin's White Christmas: The Musical, Pitlochry Festival Theatre Krapp's Last Tape/Footfalls, Citizens Theatre Company, Glasgow The List, Stellar Quines, Edinburgh Quiz Show, Traverse Theatre Company, Edinburgh The Seafarer, a co-production between Perth Theatre and the Lyric Theatre, Belfast