GLASGOW theatre companies triumphed at a prestigious ceremony this week, scooping four of the top awards.
Bard in the Botanics, the city’s outdoor Shakespeare festival, won Best Production and Best Female Performance for Nicole Cooper as Medea at the Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland (CATS).
The event, at the Tron Theatre on Sunday, began with a minute’s silence in memory of Her Majesty the Queen and members of the Scottish theatre community who have died since the last ceremony in 2019.
The Citizens Theatre, based in the Gorbals, won Best Ensemble Award for The Comedy of Errors and Maryhill-based National Theatre of Scotland won Best Technical Award for Orphans.
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CATS co-convenor Joyce McMillan said: “The years of the pandemic have been traumatic ones both for theatre and in the wider world, as the crisis exposed and often worsened the many inequalities of race, gender and class that still persist in our societies; and the rage still felt by women, at the continuing violence and inequality they suffer, was fully captured in Kathy McKean’s fierce new version of Euripides’ Medea, presented by Bard in the Botanics at the Kibble Palace this summer.
“Nicole Cooper delivered a stunning central performance as Medea in a version that brings a sharp 21st century edge to the story.”
Gordon Barr, Bard in the Botanics’ artistic director, said: "Everyone at Bard in the Botanics is absolutely over the moon to have not only been shortlisted in four categories, but to have won these two wonderful awards.
"It's a phenomenal recognition of the talent within the company and we're all so proud of and excited for each other.”
Wils Wilson won Best Director for The Royal Lyceum, Edinburgh’s production of Life is a Dream; David Greig won the Best New Play award for the third time for Adventures with the Painted People (Pitlochry Festival Theatre); Perth Theatre and Imaginate won Best Production for Children and Young People for I am Tiger; and John Kielty, Garry Boyle and Calum and Rory MacDonald won Best Use of Music and Sound for The Stamping Ground, a co-production between Raw Material and Eden Court (Inverness).
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The awards were presented by actor, singer and Gaelic activist Dolina MacLennan, one of the original cast of John McGrath’s seminal play The Cheviot, The Stag and The Black, Black Oil.
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