The Stage

Dundee Rep and Edinburgh Traverse impress at CATS

Published Sunday 13 June 2010 at 18:59 by Thom Dibdin

Dundee Rep’s production of The Elephant Man has run out as the biggest individual winner at the Critics Awards for Theatre in Scotland announced in Edinburgh on Sunday, which saw the Rep and Edinburgh’s Traverse take six of the ten awards between them.

Kevin Lennon took Best Male Performance for his role as John Merrick in The Elephant Man, while Sian Thomas won Best Female Performance for her role in The Goat, or Who is Sylvia? at the Traverse.

Jemima Levick won the Best Director award for The Elephant Man, an award for which she has been nominated twice before. The production also took the award for Best Design – the fifth time in the CATS’ eight years and the fourth year in a row that Dundee Rep has been successful in this category.

The Traverse Theatre, which received ten nominations in this year’s shortlists, took Best Production award for The Dark Things written by Ursula Rani Sarma and directed by Dominic Hill. The Dark Things also won Rani Sarma the award for Best New Play.

All-inclusive company Lung Ha’s were represented at the awards for the first time. Huxley’s Lab, their co-production with Grid Iron for the Edinburgh International Science Festival, won the Best Ensemble award. Also at the awards for the first time, Rob Drummond succeeded in the Best Production for Children and Young People with Mr Write, which he wrote, directed and performed for the National Theatre of Scotland.

Nominated in four categories, The Government Inspector from Tron Theatre and Communicado won Alasdair Macrae the award for Best Use of Music and Sound. The backstage team at Perth Theatre were recognised for their work in Jane Eyre, for which they won Best Technical Presentation.

The winners in full are:

Best Male Performance:

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

Best Female Performance:

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

Best Ensemble:

Huxley’s Lab, Grid Iron/Lung Ha’s for the Edinburgh International Science Festival

Best Director:

Jemima Levick, The Elephant Man, Dundee Rep

Best Design:

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

Best Use of Music and Sound:

Alasdair Macrae, The Government Inspector, Tron Theatre/Communicado

Best Technical Presentation:

Jane Eyre, Perth Theatre

Best Production for Children and Young People:

Mr Write, National Theatre of Scotland

Best New Play:

Ursula Rani Sarma, The Dark Things, Traverse Theatre

Best Production:

The Dark Things, Traverse Theatre