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CATS AWARDS
The shortlists for The Critics’
Awards for Theatre in Scotland have been
announced
The CATS panel have announced the 2010–11 shortlists for Scotland’s leading theatre awards. The CATS celebrate the actors, directors, playwrights and other theatre artists who have made the most significant contributions to 12 months of Scottish theatre. Blythe Duff, star of STV’s Taggart, is up for Best Female Actor for her role as Helen in David Harrower’s Good with People, produced as part of the A Play, a Pie and a Pint series at Oran Mor, Glasgow. Her portrayal of a frustrated hotel receptionist who embarks on a strange relationship with a younger man earned her rave reviews when the play opened in September last year. Other nominations for Best Female Actor include former List cover star Gemma McElhinney for her performance as Duck in David Greig’s The Monster in the Hall, which was produced as part of the Scottish Mental Health Arts & Film Festival.
David Birrell is up for Best Male Actor for his enigmatic performance as Sweeney Todd in the Dundee Rep’s lauded production, but he faces tough competition from Ian Smith, Peter Forbes and Alex Ferns.
Overall Dundee Rep, as well as The Traverse Theatre Company in Edinburgh, have much to celebrate as they are in the running for five awards each, just behind the National Theatre of Scotland and Edinburgh’s Royal Lyceum, which both appear in six categories. The winners will be announced at the Festival Theatre, Edinburgh, on Sunday 12 June. Tickets can be purchased now for £15 (including a couple of glasses of fizz) at fctt.org.uk/festival_theatre.
10 THE LIST 26 May–23 June 2011
Fringe frolics
As The Fringe prepares to announce this year’s line-up, we offer a sneaky peak at the fun coming Edinburgh’s way Words: Anna Millar
E dinburgh’s Fringe seldom arrives with a whimper but rather a ruddy great roar. June may see the official launch of 2011’s line-up, but we thought we should whet your appetite with details of some of the confirmed shows. Whether it’s site-specific dramatics, late-night cabaret, crazy comics or cutting-edge drama, the chances are this year’s programme will have it covered. Fringe virgins arrive in the guise of Opportunity Knocks champ Bobby Crush, who brings his show Liberace Live From Heaven; elsewhere, cabaret diva Lili La Scala will shimmy into town, while comedy favourites Sarah Millican and David O’Doherty bring their own brands of acerbic wit to the party.
In music, Finland’s a cappella troupe Fork bring their eclectic tunes to town, while in faces-off-the- telly, David ‘Jay’s dad from The Inbetweeners’ Schaal is set to appear as part of a sketch group and also tread the boards as part of the theatre programme in Brotherly Love. We’re pretty darn
excited about I Hope My Heart Goes First, the five- star show from Glasgow’s acclaimed company of teenage deviser-performers Junction 25, so too Alma Mater, a filmic journey for one, where individual audience members enter a specially-constructed child’s bedroom to encounter a 21st-century fairytale on an iPad. We’re also really rather pleased to see David Leddy’s Untitled Love Story and Tron Theatre Company’s A Slow Air, written and directed by David Harrower, on the bill. Musical fans can opt for Toulouse Lautrec: The Musical, an original chamber musical written and performed by one of Japan’s musical theatre stars, Jun Sawaki, about the sordid life of one of the 20th century’s most recognisable artists. Also look out for the slew of site-specific works coming to some crazy locations near you. We’re exhausted already.
Browse the full Fringe listings at list.co.uk and edfringe.com from Thu 9 Jun.
ReviewofReviews
THE BEAVER
GENERAL RELEASE FROM FRI 17 JUN
WHAT WE SAID: ‘Gibson is the story: channelling the manic, edgy qualities of his established screen persona and his personal woes into a performance that encourages you to give him a second chance.’ THE LIST
provide us with a case study of mental illness.’ THE INDEPENDENT ‘Gibson adopts a dreadful cor-blimey British accent with hints of Aussie: he sounds like Michael Caine after a long break in Sydney.’ TIME OUT
WHAT THEY SAID: ‘We never know whether [director Jodie Foster] is trying to make us laugh or ‘The Beaver may flash its teeth from time to time, but deep down, it’s tamer than Orville.’ THE GUARDIAN