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"" Phil Nichol H
b COMEDIAN/ACTOR
Is he a comedian? Is he an
actor? Is he Canadian”? Or Scottish? Yes to all of those. but we will happily claim the inaugural victor of the if.comeddie award (or. we suppose. the Eddies) award as one of our own. considering he was born in Glasgow. While it was in Ontario that he tapped into his comedic sensibilities with Corky and the Juice Pigs. his return to British soil in the early 90s witnessed the honing of those talents which have led him to a habit of picking up awards during August. Having won a Stage
—' Vicky Featherstone (30) b THEATRE DIRECTOR
Vicky Featherstone is coming to the end of her first year of actual productions at the NTS. and can look back on her achievements with real pride. The former Artistic Director of Paines Plough. who in her tenure there. had brought such distinguished voices as Sarah Kane and Mark Ravenhill to a broader public notice. has risen well to the challenge of running Scotland's first national company.
Her programming, insight and artistic vision have made for a great year for the NTS. from the rough and ready house party that was the series of Home events. staged all over Scotland and incorporating proftvzssionals and community actors from local areas. through to succession of youth theatre projects that have shown real imagination in approach and involvement techniques. But most folk
Award for Best Actor in 2005. he was nominated once again this year for his central performance as Barry Champlain in Talk Radio but it was his Naked Racist show that earned him the ultimate comedy acclaim. While Nichol could certainly have filled out the Sfand's main venue. the decision to house him at their second space just around the corner was inspired. As intimate and claustrophobic an experience as you c0uld imagine. the in-your-face finale merged the political wrth the very. very personal. Where Phil Nichol goes from such dizzying heights (and lengths) is difficult to guess. (BD)
Grant Momson (45) 4 COMICS LEGEND What more can we say about comics creator (Brant Morrison? 'lhere's the small case of the highest selling graphic novel of all time. Arkhani Asylum; the perverted yet profound lnvrsib/es. his revamp of top series' such as J1../\ and X- Men or we could go all the way back to Yen/(h in 2000M). But it is perhaps 9000 where he has really risen to the fore. back wrth DC after a stint at Marvel. now wrth a consultancy role ‘With special attention to revamping series'. He started the year by rounding off his 'Altrnan esgue' masterpiece Seven Soldiers. then hit the ground running A key writer in [)C's ambitious weekly comic 52. rt-2launching Wl/dC/US and The Authority for the Wildstorm imprint and in a real coup he's currently writing not just Bat/nan but All Star Super/nan as well. two of the most recriic figures in pop culture. When you combine the sales for all his projects he's regularly shifting over 500.000 comics per month. And this work has been rewarded by his peers picking up two l isner Awards and two Eagle Awards this year (including a Lifetime Achievement award). Beyond the comics his WEI) project has been picked up by New I ine wrth Morrison as screenwriter. Not bad for a Glasgow lad who got into comics 'just to get off the dole.‘ lHN)
WI” remember the major productions. Among these. Grid lron's Roam. a site specific at Edinburgh Airport enthralled audiences and scored well at the CNS awards. while Greg Burke's Black Watch which appeared at the Festival. might well exceed even these achievements. Add to these Anthony Neilson's brilliant Rea/ism, also at the Festival and John Byrne's lively. movrng and funny li/tti [rutti in September. and Featherstone has plenty of cultural cache in the bank.
While her own two productions. lhe Wolves in the Walls and Mary Stuart were by no means poor. but didn't quite reach these stellar heights. anyone who has seen Featherstone's earlier work could not doubt her ability. and will expect better work ahead. A woman of energy and boundless creativrty, we can expect Featherstone to continue to make a major impact on the Scottish arts scene for as long a s she chooses to stay. (SC)
1-1 Her: 9000 -1.Jartl)()()f THE LIST 3"