hand to plays and performance and this year was a leap in that different direction. He took The Moira Monologues on tour, appeared in Gregory Burke’s Battery Farm and his play Turbo Folk was nominated in the Critics Awards for Theatre in Scotland. (BD)
84 LUNG HA’S Pioneering theatre company
Long known for its groundbreaking work, Lung Ha’s, the Edinburgh-based company working with actors with learning difficulties, celebrated a watershed year, winning a CATS award for Best Ensemble for Huxley’s Lab and tackling classic texts for the first time: adaptations of Chekhov’s short stories ‘Romance with a Double Bass’ and ‘The Two Volodyas’. (AR)
83 PETER CAPALDI A Tucker-free year A consolidating year for our numero uno from 2009 with Capaldi giving himself a beefier role in the second series of BBC4’s hospital-set comedy, Getting On, and appearing as a grieving parent in an episode of the Jimmy McGovern-created series, Accused. (BD)
82 ROD JONES Never idle
HOT 100 2010
BORN LIPPY Prolific Glasgow-born actor Laura Fraser reappeared on our tellies this year in Lip Service, a BBC3 show billed widely as Scotland’s answer to The L-Word. Divisive but horrendously addictive, the show was lent a certain credibility by Fraser’s portrayal of semi-neurotic architect, Cat MacKenzie, as she dealt with the perils of twentysomething life: internet dating; the career ladder; the omni-present ex. At times the show teetered on the
brink of implausibility, featuring a version of Glasgow that many locals would fail to recognise and enough steamy bits to keep viewers goggle-eyed throughout (how many viewers had actually frigged someone off in a morgue of late, you were left wondering). Some critics noted how few ‘real lesbians’ were involved (with the exception of writer, Harriet Braun, and Heather Peace as DS Sam Murray). Was Lip Service different to your previous roles?
I have played a lesbian about five times. I did another female ensemble a few years ago for HBO about suffragettes but this was different. I love working with such strong groups of women. How accurate do you think the depiction of Glasgow and its gay scene is? It illustrates what a beautiful, vibrant city Glasgow is. It was so lovely to be able to go home at night. On the downside, our costumes were all autumn-wear, so we had bare legs in mid- December. I have never been so cold. (Lauren Mayberry)
89 SUSAN TRIESMAN Ramshorn Theatre titan Having been at the helm of the Ramshorn and Strathclyde Theatre Group for 26 years, director Susan Triesman is stepping down at the end of this year. This follows a tumultuous 18 months of battling to save the Glasgow institution from closure while putting together a triumphant programme in 2010 that included Stephen Greenhorn’s Passing Places and Stephen Jeffreys’ The Libertine. (AR)
88 NIC GREEN Groundbreaking feminist theatre-maker
18 THE LIST 16 Dec 2010 – 6 Jan 2011
The creator of the celebrated Trilogy added to her growing reputation in 2010, successfully transporting the five-star piece of feminist theatre to London’s Battersea Arts Centre before returning to Glasgow’s Arches for a short run. Green also unveiled a new show at Arches Live, Fatherland, Motherland, which explored her rootless cultural identity. (AR)
87 LLOYD MEREDITH Music blogger See panel, page 16.
86 CLOUDS
Dance duo with Turbo boost The brash, ravey house style of young Perth duo Clouds is set to take off in 2011, with work forthcoming on Tiga’s Turbo Recordings label. In the meantime, check out ‘Liquid’ on Fake Blood’s Blood Music or catch them at the Arches’ New Year’s Eve party in Glasgow. (DP)
85 ALAN BISSETT Acclaimed author steps out The Falkirk-born novelist has steadily been turning his