The nominations have been announced for the Critics' Awards for Theatre in Scotland, with seven going to theatre company Tortoise in a Nutshell for two of its productions: Ragnarok and Ginger.
Edinburgh's Royal Lyceum Theatre received six nominations across three productions, The Girls of Slender Means, Anna Karenina and Sunset Song, while four went to the Tron in Glasgow for just one production: Caryl Churchill's Escaped Alone.
CATS co-convenor Mark Brown said, “like everyone else in Scottish theatre, the critics are intensely aware of the funding pressures Scotland’s theatre-makers are facing”, says. “We are, therefore, full of admiration for the quality and diversity of the work that is being produced.
“It is a testament to the passion and determination of our theatre-makers that they continue to make work of such a high calibre when funding is so precarious. The former First Minister committed to doubling arts funding over the next five years. This support cannot come soon enough.”
CATS co-convenor Joyce McMillan added, “this year there were an astonishing 139 new pieces of theatre produced in Scotland ranging from works by long-established companies such as Tron Theatre, Dundee Rep, Pitlochry Festival Theatre and the Royal Lyceum, to more recently established groups like Sleeping Warrior and Tortoise in a Nutshell, the latter of which picks up no fewer than seven nominations across two productions; and the judging panel would like to congratulate every professional theatre company in Scotland, on every scale, for the tremendous efforts they make to remain creative, productive and inventive, in what are exceptionally tough times.”
The CATS judging panel for the 2024 Awards comprised Mary Brennan (The Herald), Mark Brown (Sunday National and the Daily Telegraph), Anna Burnside (Daily Record / Across the Arts / Corr Blimey!), Dominic Corr (Corr Blimey!), Michael Cox (Across the Arts), Thom Dibdin (AllEdinburghTheatre.com), Mark Fisher (The Guardian), Fergus Morgan (The Stage), Joyce McMillan (The Scotsman), Natalie O’Donoghue (Broadway World), David Pollock (freelance reviewer), Allan Radcliffe (The Times) and Hugh Simpson (AllEdinburghTheatre.com)
The winners will be announced at a ceremony at the Theatre Royal Glasgow on the afternoon of Sunday 16 June 2024.
Full shortlists for the 2024 Critics Awards For Theatre in Scotland
Outstanding Performance
- Darren Brownlie Meet Me At The Knob - A Play, A Pie and A Pint
- Nicole Cooper Lear’s Fool - Bard in the Botanics
- Blythe Duff (Mrs Jarrett) Escaped Alone - Tron Theatre Company
- Paul McCole (Dion) The Sheriff of Kalamaki - A Play, A Pie and A Pint
- Gary McNair (Various) Dear Billy - National Theatre of Scotland
- Gill Robertson (Various) Lightning Ridge - Catherine Wheels
- Alan Steele (Falstaff) Henry IV Parts I & II - Bard in the Botanics
- Kirsty Stuart (Blanche) A Streetcar Named Desire - Pitlochry Festival Theatre
Best Ensemble
- Escaped Alone - Tron Theatre Company
- Same Team: A Street Soccer Story - Traverse Theatre
- Sunset Song - Dundee Rep Theatre in co-production with Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh
- The Girls Of Slender Means - Royal Lyceum
Best Director
- Joanna Bowman Escaped Alone - Tron Theatre Company
- Joe Douglas Dear Billy - National Theatre of Scotland
- Elizabeth Newman - A Streetcar Named Desire Pitlochry Festival Theatre
- Bryony Shanahan - Same Team – A Street Soccer Story; Traverse Theatre
Best Design
- Anna Karenina - Royal Lyceum. Emma Bailey
- Ginger -Tortoise In A Nutshell in association with Platform and Lyth Arts Centre. Katy Rae Wilson (Set Design) Michaella Fee (Lighting Design)
- Love the Sinner Vanishing Point and Imogen Stirling - Alisa Kalyanova (Set and Costume); Simon Wilkinson (Lighting); Ellie Thompson Video & Projection Design; Mark Melville (Sound Design)
- RagnarokTortoise in a Nutshell co-production with Figurteatret i Nordland and in association with MacRobert Arts Centre: Arran Howie (Designer), Simon Wilkinson (Lighting & Video Designer)
Best Music and Sound
- Battery Park - Sleeping Warrior
- Club Life - Fred Deakin and Davie Miller
- Ragnarok- Tortoise in a Nutshell co-production with Figurteatret i Nordland and in association with MacRobert Arts Centre. Jim Harbourne Sound Designer and Performer
- Sunset Song - Dundee Rep Theatre in co-production with Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh. Music by Finn Anderson, Sound Design by Ritchie Young.
Best Technical Presentation
- Ginger - Tortoise In A Nutshell in association with Platform and Lyth Arts Centre
- Ghosthunter- Visible Fictions
- Love the Sinner - Vanishing Point and Imogen Stirling
- Ragnarok - Tortoise in a Nutshell co-production with Figurteatret i Nordland and in association with MacRobert Arts Centre
Best New Play
- Douglas Maxwell - The Sheriff of Kalamaki
- Gary McNair - Dear Billy
- Gabriel Quigley - The Girls of Slender Means
- Imogen Stirling - Love the Sinner
Best Production for Children and Young People
- Ginger- Tortoise In A Nutshell in association with Platform and Lyth Arts Centre
- Ghosthunter- Visible Fictions
- Lightning Ridge - Catherine Wheels
- Unicorn Christmas Party - Raw Material
Best Production
- Dear Billy – National Theatre of Scotland
- Escaped Alone - Tron Theatre Company
- Lightning Ridge - Catherine Wheels
- Ragnarok - Tortoise in a Nutshell co-production with Figurteatret i Nordland and in association with MacRobert Arts Centre
- The Girls Of Slender Means - Royal Lyceum