The Stage

Scottish touring companies purr at CATS awards

Published Sunday 14 June 2009 at 22:04 by Thom Dibdin

Touring theatre was the big winner at the annual Critics Awards for Theatre in Scotland, staged in Edinburgh today.

Six of the ten awards went to touring companies, with Glasgow-based Vanishing Point’s international co-production, Interiors, taking three awards including Best Production.

Dogstar Theatre, in the Highlands, added to its awards tally for The Taylor of Inverness as Matthew Zajac picked up Best Male Performance. Rowan Tree, in the Borders, took Best Use of Music for their examination of Burns in The Lasses O. While TAG and Sounds of Progress’ co-production, Liar, took the award for Best Production for Children and Young People.

Of Scotland’s building-based companies, Dundee Rep collected two awards. Irene Macdougall took Best Female Performance for a Martha who was described as ‘giving Elizabeth Taylor a run for her money’ in the company’s production of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, while their Beauty and the Beast took the Best Design award.

Best New Play went to Simon Stephens for Pornography, a co-production between Edinburgh’s Traverse theatre and Birmingham Rep, while Vox Motus and Glasgow’s Tron theatre were awarded the Best Technical Presentation award for Slick.

Already heavily featured on the shortlist - with a total of 14 mentions - the Traverse was the theatre most represented among the winners, thanks to its co-production status for Interiors.

Using Maeterlink’s Interior as its inspiration, Interiors was a co-production between the two Scottish companies, Napoli Teatro Festival Italia and Mercadante Teatro Stabile di Napoli - in association with the Lyric Hammersmith and the Tron, Glasgow. Performed in a dumb-show behind glass with a Desperate Housewives-style commentary, the company also took best Ensemble with Matthew Lenton picking up the award for Best Director.

A surprising omission from the winners list was the National Theatre of Scotland - missing for the first time since it was set up and having been involved in six of last year’s winners.

Joyce McMillan, The Scotsman’s theatre critic and co-convenor of the awards, commented: “In a year when no fewer than six of the awards were won by touring companies based across the length and breadth of the country it is clear that Scottish theatre is as strong and diverse as ever, and capable of delivering unexpected thrills, from the smallest village hall to the grandest international stage.

“The high calibre of the new work produced here over the last 12 months has been inspiring, and it is especially gratifying to note that the quality of Scottish creativity is now being recognised across the world through an increasing number of international collaborations including this year’s Best Production, Interiors.”

The panel of 13 Scottish theatre critics considered 162 productions which were first staged in the year up to May 2008, 107 of which were eligible for the new play award and 25 for the children and young people’s award.

2009 CRITICS’ AWARDS FOR THEATRE IN SCOTLAND

BEST PERFORMANCE (MALE)

Matthew Zajac, The Tailor of Inverness, Dogstar Theatre

BEST PERFORMANCE (FEMALE)

Irene Macdougall, Martha, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Dundee Rep

BEST DIRECTOR

Matthew Lenton, Interiors, Vanishing Point/Napoli Teatro Festival Italia/Mercadante Teatro Stabile di Napoli/Traverse Theatre in association with Lyric Hammersmith and Tron Theatre

BEST ENSEMBLE

Interiors, Vanishing Point/Napoli Teatro Festival Italia/Mercadante Teatro Stabile di Napoli/Traverse Theatre in association with Lyric Hammersmith and Tron Theatre

BEST NEW PLAY

Simon Stephens, Pornography, Traverse Theatre/Birmingham Rep’

BEST PRODUCTION FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE

TAG and Sounds of Progress LIAR

BEST DESIGN

Alex Lowde (set) and Chris Davey (lighting), Beauty and the Beast, Dundee Rep

BEST USE OF MUSIC

Seylan Baxter, Lillias Kinsman-Blake and Rachel Newton, The Lasses, O’, Rowan Tree Theatre

BEST TECHNICAL PRESENTATION

Slick, Vox Motus/Tron Theatre

BEST PRODUCTION

Interiors, Vanishing Point/Napoli Teatro Festival Italia/Mercadante Teatro Stabile di Napoli/Traverse Theatre in association with Lyric Hammersmith and Tron Theatre