Theatre critics reveal their Scottish shortlist

ACCORDING to Scotland’s leading theatre critics, Edinburgh theatre, The Traverse, has been home to some of the best productions in the country recently – following the unveiling of their Scottish theatre awards shortlist.

The Traverse has been nominated ten times in six out of ten categories – such as Best director and Best new play – by critics including The Scotsman’s Joyce McMillan and The Guardian’s Mark Fisher.

Although theatre companies in Edinburgh and Glasgow dominate the shortlist, it has also been a good year for Dundee Repertory Theatre, with six nominations, while Pitlochry Festival Theatre, Perth Theatre and Fife Arts Trust each appear in at least one category.

Says Fisher: “It has been a bumper year for great theatre in Scotland and we were spoilt for choice when it came to making our selections. It means the 2010 shortlists represent a truly impressive range of talent, whether it is the most intimate one-person show or, as is the case with Huxley’s Lab, a production with a cast of 30.”

Now in its eighth year, the Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland (CATS) has become a highlight of the theatrical calendar in Scotland, celebrating the actors, directors, playwrights and other artists who have made the most thrilling contributions to the industry over the past 12 months.

The critics involved in compiling this year’s shortlist are: Mary Brennan (The Herald), Mark Brown (The Sunday Herald and the Daily Telegraph), Neil Cooper (The Herald), Michael Cox (onstagescotland.co.uk), Shona Craven (onstagescotland.co.uk), Robert Dawson Scott (The Times), Thom Dibdin (Edinburgh Evening News and The Stage), Mark Fisher (The Guardian), Joyce McMillan (The Scotsman), Gareth K Vile (The Skinny) and Joy Watters (The Courier).

The winners will be announced at the Festival Theatre in Edinburgh on the 13th of next month, at an event open to the public.

For ticket information, click here.

The shortlist:

BEST ACTOR (MALE), sponsored by Guy Robertson Partnership

John Bett as the Governor, The Government Inspector, Communicado/Tron Theatre

Brian Ferguson as Daniel, The Dark Things, Traverse Theatre

Kevin Lennon as John Merrick, The Elephant Man, Dundee Rep

Jimmy Yuill, Testament Of Cresseid, Edinburgh International Festival

BEST ACTOR (FEMALE)

Suzanne Donaldson as LJ, The Dark Things, Traverse Theatre

Suzie Ferguson, Sick, Theatre Modo

Cara Kelly as Maureen Folan, The Beauty Queen of Leenane, Royal Lyceum

Sian Thomas as Stevie, The Goat, or Who is Sylvia?, Traverse Theatre

BEST ENSEMBLE

A Christmas Carol, Dundee Rep

The Darktown Cakewalk: Celebrated from the House of FAME, Sorcha Dallas, The Work Room, Tramway, Glasgow International Festival of Visual Art

The Government Inspector, Communicado/Tron Theatre

Huxley’s Lab, Grid Iron/Lung Ha’s

BEST DIRECTOR

Ken Alexander, Whisky Galore, Pitlochry Festival Theatre

Dominic Hill, The Dark Things, Traverse Theatre

Dominic Hill, The Goat, Traverse Theatre

Jemima Levick, Elephant Man, Dundee Rep

BEST DESIGN

Kai Fischer (set and lighting) and Finn Ross (projection and video design), The Beggar’s Opera, Royal Lyceum, Vanishing Point and Belgrade Theatre, Coventry in association with Tramway

Alex Lowde (set) and Colin Grenfell (lighting), The Elephant Man, Dundee Rep

Jason Southgate (set) and Graham Sutherland (lighting), Cinderella, Citizens Theatre

Neil Warmington (set) and Lizzie Powell (lighting), The Dark Things, Traverse Theatre

BEST USE OF MUSIC AND SOUND

Jon Beales, Shona McKee McNeil, Ian Hammond Brown and the company, Whisky Galore, Pitlochry Festival Theatre

David Paul Jones, The Songbird, Giant

Alasdair Macrae, The Government Inspector, Communicado/Tron Theatre

Stuart McCallum, The Darktown Cakewalk: Celebrated from the House of FAME, Sorcha Dallas, The Work Room, Tramway, Glasgow International Festival of Visual Art

BEST TECHNICAL PRESENTATION, sponsored by Northern Light

Bright Black, Vox Motus (in association with Platform and supported by Cumbernauld Theatre and Fife Arts Trust)

A Christmas Carol, Dundee Rep

Jane Eyre, Perth Theatre

Mr Write, National Theatre of Scotland

BEST PRODUCTION FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE

Cinderella, Citizens Theatre

Mr Write, National Theatre of Scotland

Pobby and Dingan, Catherine Wheels

The Songbird, Giant

BEST NEW PLAY, sponsored by W&P Longreach

Alan Bissett, Turbo Folk, A Play, a Pie and a Pint

Kieran Hurley, Hitch (Full Version), The Arches

Dennis Kelly, Orphans, Traverse Theatre and Birmingham Repertory Theatre in association with Paines Plough

Ursula Rani Sarma, The Dark Things, Traverse Theatre

BEST PRODUCTION

A Christmas Carol, Dundee Rep

The Dark Things, Traverse Theatre

The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?, Traverse Theatre

The Government Inspector, Communicado/Tron Theatre