THE shortlist for the Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland (CATS) has been announced.

A total of 139 works staged in Scotland between last May and April 2024 were eligible for the award, 103 of which were new plays.

Among the biggest contenders for an award is theatre company Tortoise in a Nutshell, which is up for seven awards across two productions – the highest number of nominations.

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Meanwhile, the Royal Lyceum in Edinburgh has been shortlisted for six awards across three different productions.

The judging panel includes Mark Brown (Sunday National and the Daily Telegraph), Mary Brennan (The Herald), Mark Fisher (The Guardian), Joyce McMillan (The Scotsman) and Allan Radcliffe (The Times).

Brown, who is co-convenor at CATS, said critics were “intensely aware of the funding pressures Scotland’s theatre-makers are facing”.

He continued: “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.”

The awards ceremony will take place at the Theatre Royal in Glasgow on June 16.

The full shortlist is as follows.

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