CATS 2019 shortlist announced

Published: 10 May 2019
Reporter: David Chadderton

My Left Right Foot - The Musical (original cast) Credit: Tommy Ga-Ken Wan
Grant O'Rourke as 2, Ballyturk (Tron Theatre) Credit: John Johnston
John Michie as The Fireman in The Mack (A Play, A Pie and A Pint) Credit: Leslie Black

The shortlist has been announced for the 2019 Critics' Awards for Theatre in Scotland, with production My Left Right Foot – The Musical and venue Traverse Theatre leading the nominations with 6 and 11 mentions respectively.

My Left Right Foot – The Musical was co-produced by National Theatre of Scotland and Birds of Paradise, the latter having had its funding restored after a public outcry following the decision of Creative Scotland to withdraw it.

Joyce McMillan, co-convenor of The Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland, said, “the initial decision to cut regular funding for Birds of Paradise seemed out of tune with Creative Scotland’s commitment to supporting arts that are by and for everyone. Theatre should be inclusive, and this great show demonstrates how Birds of Paradise have become a vital part of Scotland’s theatre scene over the last 25 years, creating award-winning work in which artists with disability and without can work together to produce world-class, thought-provoking entertainment, for audiences everywhere.

“Not only did Robert Softley Gale’s take on the controversial Oscar-winning film My Left Foot stand up for disabled people’s right to be heard, but it did it in a brilliantly humorous and theatrical way, in one of the finest productions of the year.”

Robert Softley Gale, Artistic Director of Birds of Paradise, said, "we are so incredibly thrilled to receive these six CATS nominations. Making a large-scale musical takes so many talented artists working together and it's a fantastic testament to them that we've received this recognition. It wasn't so long ago that work by disabled artists was seen as being on the fringes, but now—in 2019—we can finally have the confidence to say we're a core part of the arts in Scotland. A huge thanks to the CATS panel for their part in making that so."

Edinburgh’s Traverse Theatre's 11 nominations were for four different productions: Ulster American, Mouthpiece, What Girls Are Made Of and The Mack, while Glasgow’s Tron Theatre received five nominations for Ballyturk and Perth Theatre at Horsecross received four nominations for Lost at Sea.

The 2019 CATS will be presented at Tramway on Sunday 9 June.

The nominations

Best Female Performance, sponsored by STV

  • Cora Bissett (Cora), What Girls Are Made Of, Traverse Theatre Company and Raw Material in association with Regular Music
  • Jessica Hardwick (Roxane), Cyrano de Bergerac, National Theatre of Scotland, Citizens Theatre, and Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh
  • Irene Macdougall (Kate Keller), All My Sons, Dundee Rep Ensemble
  • Lucianne McEvoy (Ruth Davenport), Ulster American, Traverse Theatre Company

Best Male Performance

  • Darrell D’Silva (Jay Conway), Ulster American, Traverse Theatre Company
  • Lorn Macdonald (Declan), Mouthpiece, Traverse Theatre Company in association with HighTide
  • John Michie (Fireman), The Mack, A Play, a Pie and a Pint at Òran Mór, presented in association with the Traverse Theatre
  • Grant O’Rourke (Two), Ballyturk, Tron Theatre Company

Best Ensemble, sponsored by Equity

  • Ballyturk, Tron Theatre Company
  • Lost At Sea, Perth Theatre at Horsecross Arts and Morna Young
  • My Left Right Foot – The Musical, Birds of Paradise and National Theatre of Scotland
  • Square Go, Francesca Moody Productions in association with SEARED

Best Director, sponsored by the Scottish Drama Training Network

  • Andy Arnold, Ballyturk, Tron Theatre Company
  • Ian Brown, Lost at Sea, Perth Theatre at Horsecross Arts and Morna Young
  • Orla O’Loughlin, Mouthpiece, Traverse Theatre Company in association with HighTide
  • Robert Softley Gale, My Left Right Foot – The Musical, Birds of Paradise and National Theatre of Scotland

Best Design

  • Kenneth MacLeod (designer) and Simon Wilkinson (lighting designer), The Dark Carnival, Vanishing Point and Citizens Theatre in association with Dundee Rep Ensemble
  • Shona Reppe (design concept), Ailsa Paterson (design realiser), Selene Cochrane (costume designer and maker) and Chris Edser (animator), Baba Yaga, Imaginate and Windmill Theatre Company
  • Michael Taylor (designer) and Mark Doubleday (lighting designer), Kim Beveridge (Video Designer) and Nick Murray Willis (Animator) Ballyturk, Tron Theatre Company
  • Karen Tennent (designer) and Katharine Williams (lighting designer), Lost At Sea, Perth Theatre at Horsecross Arts and Morna Young

Best Music and Sound

  • Danny Krass (sound designer), Ballyturk, Tron Theatre
  • Michael John McCarthy (musical director), What Girls Are Made Of, Traverse Theatre Company and Raw Material in association with Regular Music
  • Claire McKenzie (music and lyrics), Scott Gilmour (music and lyrics) and Richard Thomas (additional songs), My Left Right Foot – The Musical, Birds of Paradise and National Theatre of Scotland
  • Pippa Murphy (composer and sound designer), Lost at Sea, Perth Theatre at Horsecross Arts and Morna Young

Best Technical Presentation, sponsored by BECTU

  • Baba Yaga, Imaginate and Windmill Theatre Company
  • The End of Eddy, Untitled Projects and the Unicorn Theatre
  • Interference, National Theatre of Scotland
  • My Left Right Foot – The Musical Birds of Paradise and National Theatre of Scotland

Best Production for Children and Young People sponsored by Young Scot

  • Baba Yaga, Imaginate and Windmill Theatre Company, co-created by Shona Reppe, Christine Johnston and Rosemary Myers
  • The End of Eddy, Untitled Projects and the Unicorn Theatre
  • Nests, Frozen Charlotte and Stadium Rock
  • Stick by Me, Andy Manley, Ian Cameron, and Red Bridge Arts

Best New Play

  • Kieran Hurley, Mouthpiece, Traverse Theatre Company in association with HighTide
  • David Ireland, Ulster American, Traverse Theatre Company
  • Christine Johnston, Rosemary Myers and Shona Reppe, Baba Yaga, Imaginate and Windmill Theatre Company
  • Robert Softley Gale, My Left Right Foot – The Musical, Birds of Paradise and National Theatre of Scotland

Best Production

  • My Left Right Foot – The Musical, Birds of Paradise and National Theatre of Scotland
  • Pride and Prejudice* (*Sort of), Tron Theatre Company with Blood of the Young
  • Ulster American, Traverse Theatre Company
  • What Girls Are Made Of, Traverse Theatre Company and Raw Material in association with Regular Music

*Some links, including Amazon, Stageplays.com, ATG Tickets, LOVEtheatre, BTG Tickets, Ticketmaster, The Ticket Factory, LW Theatres and QuayTickets, are affiliate links for which BTG may earn a small fee at no extra cost to the purchaser.

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