A tribute to Sir Billy Connolly celebrating everything the Big Yin means to Scotland has been nominated for four major awards.

Dear Billy, a National Theatre of Scotland (NTS) production, is among the most nominated productions in the prestigious Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland (CATS) Awards.

The “joyous” piece of theatre, written by and starring Gary McNair, is nominated in four categories: Best Performer, Best New Play Best Director (Joe Douglas) and Best Production.

Also nominated in four categories is the Tron Theatre Company’s production of Caryl Churchill’s play Escaped Alone - for which acclaimed stage and screen actress Blythe Duff has been nominated for a Best Performance award, with the production also shortlisted for Best Director (Joanna Bowman), Best Ensemble and Best Production.

Poet and musician Imogen Stirling garners three nominations for Love the Sinner, her re-imagining of the seven deadly sins as alive and well and living in Glasgow.

The production, which was co-produced by Vanishing Point Theatre Company, is shortlisted for Best Design and Best Technical Presentation and Stirling receives a nomination in the Best New Play category. 
The Herald: Nicole Cooper as Lear’s FoolNicole Cooper as Lear’s Fool (Image: CATS)

Glasgow’s West End is well represented on the this year’s awards shortlist – released today.  

A Play A Pie and A Pint receives three nominations: Darren Brownlie for Meet Me At The Knob and Paul McCole(Dion) for The Sheriff of Kalamaki, which is also shortlisted for Best New Play.

Bard in the Botanics picks up two nominations both in the Best Performance Category: Alan Steele (Falstaff) and Nicole Cooper (Lear’s Fool).

Other Glasgow-based companies Visible Fictions, Sleeping Warrior and Raw Material each have one nomination.


READ MORE: Rocky Horror Show starring Jason Donovan coming to Scotland

READ MORE: Scots Doctor Who actor to star in Oscar Wilde classic

“Like everyone else in Scottish theatre, the critics are intensely aware of the funding pressures Scotland’s theatre-makers are facing”, said CATS co-convenor Mark Brown. “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: “We’re delighted to announce a short list that celebrates such a wide range of Scottish theatre, from the smallest scale to the most epic and spectacular.”

“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 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 Herald:  Blythe Duff as Mrs Jarrett Blythe Duff as Mrs Jarrett (Image: Mihaela Bodlovic)

 CATS co-convenor, Michael Cox said: “We had 139 eligible productions this year—more than two-thirds of which was new work.

"It’s always challenging selecting just four for our Best New Play category, especially when you consider how good much of the work was. But we have a great shortlist, and it is particularly exciting that two of those shortlisted are nominated for the first time.”

The 2024 Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland are supported by STV Studios (Outstanding Performance awards), Equity (Best Ensemble), BECTU (Best Technical Presentation), Nick Hern Books (Best New Play), BB Hair Collective (Best Design), Gilded Balloon (Best Production for Children and Young People), and also by BBC Scotland Radio Drama.  

The awards will be hosted at the Theatre Royal Glasgow on the afternoon of Sunday 16 June. 

Theatre Director James Haworth said “We are excited to be hosting this year’s Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland at Theatre Royal, Glasgow for the first time.” 

“As the city’s oldest theatre, the venue has played a leading role in Scotland’s cultural life, presenting homegrown talent as well as showcasing famed international productions. We look forward to welcoming Scotland’s theatre critics, bringing them together with nominees and guests to celebrate the Scottish theatre sector and the brilliant people behind the terrific work staged across the country this year.” 


Almost 140 works created in Scotland in 2023-4 were eligible for the 2024 CATS, of which 103 were new plays.

A total of 50 productions from 23 different producers made the long lists for the awards with the shortlists including 19 different productions.

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)

FULL SHORTLISTS FOR THE 2024 CRITICS AWARDS FOR THEATRE IN SCOTLAND

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE (sponsored by STV Studios)

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 (sponsored by Equity)

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 (sponsored by BB Hair Collective)

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)

Ragnarok Tortoise 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 (sponsored by BECTU)

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 (sponsored by Nick Hern Books)

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 (sponsored by Gilded Balloon)

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