Scottish-Japanese co-production the big winner at 2025 CATS

The Herald Scotland

08-06-2025

Confessions of a Shinagawa Monkey, an international collaboration between Glasgow-based Vanishing Point and Kanagawa Arts Theatre of Yokohama, Japan (in association with Tramway), was the big winner, picking up four awards.
Based on short stories by the acclaimed Japanese writer Haruki Murakamki, Confessions of a Shinagawa Monkey won 'Best Design', 'Best Technical' and 'Best Ensemble' awards, with Sandy Grierson, who played the eponymous monkey, receiving an 'Outstanding Performance' award.
Sandy Grierson in the Vanishing Point-Kanagawa Arts Theatre co-production of Confessions of a Shinagawa Monkey (Image: Mihaela Bodlovic) CATS co-convenor Mark Brown said: 'Scottish theatre has enjoyed a renaissance in the period since the Second World War.
'Internationalism has been a primary driver of that revival and one of the key exponents of that internationalism – over the past 26 years – has been Glasgow-based theatre company Vanishing Point. Their unique form of international theatre as witnessed in Confessions of a Shinagawa Monkey sees the integration of multiple languages and cultures in a single show.'
Anna Burnside of Corr Blimey! and Across the Arts said: 'Sandy Grierson was an extraordinary monkey, matter of fact and believable while undeniably an animal.
'His physicality was entirely convincing and, working with a skilled puppeteer, his tail added an extra layer of nuance to an already astounding performance. This was something very special.'
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The supreme award, 'Best Production', went to Hedda Gabler, the second collaboration between Gordon Barr (director), Kathy McKean (writer) and Nicole Cooper (Hedda) for Bard in the Botanics. This award follows the success of their first collaboration, Medea, which won the 'Best Production' award at the 2022 CATS.
CATS co-convenor Joyce McMillan said: 'In recent years, Bard in the Botanics have extended their work beyond Shakespeare to embrace other mighty writers and stories; and there is none greater than Henrik Ibsen.
'Last year, they presented his huge and haunting 1891 tragedy in the perfect surroundings of the Kibble Palace, in a thrilling new version by Kathy McKean, and in a production by Gordon Barr with Nicole Cooper as Hedda that fairly took the breath away with its pace and intensity.'
Meanwhile, the first 'Outstanding Panto' award was scooped by the Gaiety Theatre, Ayr's Mother Goose.
Mother Goose, Ayr Gaiety (Image: Tommy GA-Ken Wan)
Thom Dibdin of All Edinburgh Theatre said: "This was a panto packed with local references, that oozed love and laughter, and which eschewed a shoe-horned wedding to bring a message of hope and reconciliation at the finale.
'Above all, however, this was a panto which dared. Dared to bring in big topical political comedy, dared to acknowledge societal concerns, dared to name-check the venue's panto greats over the years and dared to have Deaf characters in the cast and company using the fact of their deafness to up the physicality for everyone to see.'
The second 'Oustanding Performance' award went to Kirsty Findlay for the title role in Beautiful: The Carole King Story at Pitlochry Festival, where 'she embodied the legendary singer songwriter with a depth and maturity that was riveting to watch'.
The 'Best Director' award was won by Andrew Panton for A History of Paper (Dundee Rep/Traverse Theatre).
Nicole Cooper in the title role in Kathy McKean's version of Hedda Gabler, directed by Gordon Barr at 2024 Bard in the Botanics (Image: Tommy Ga-Ken Wan)
Douglas Maxwell picked up the 'Best New Play' award for the second year in a row. Following his success with The Sheriff of Kalamaki last year, Maxwell won the 2025 award for So Young (Traverse Theatre, Raw Material and Citizens Theatre).
CATS co-convenor Michael Cox said: 'Douglas Maxwell proves again that he is one of Scottish theatre's best playwrights.
'This is underlined by the fact that he's not only won this award back-to-back, but for two very distinctive plays which have only their excellence in common.'
Yellow Canary, Tashi Gore's powerful family story of survival during the Nazi Holocaust (produced by Glass Performance), won the 'Best Production For Children and Young People' award, and the Royal Lyceum' s Wild Rose won the 'Best Sound and Music' award.
In total, around 140 works created in Scotland in 2024-5 were eligible for the 2025 CATS, of which over 120 were new plays.