Traverse Leads Total Theatre Award Nominations
Nominations for this year’s Total Theatre Awards at the Edinburgh Fringe have been announced with shows at the Traverse receiving six nominations.
The awards, which were first awarded in 1997, will be presented in three categories: work presented by an emerging company, physical or visual theatre and innovation. Today also saw the awards announce their judging panel, which this year includes Fiona Allan, artistic director of Wales Millennium Centre, Ben Harrison of site specific theatre company Grid Iron and Laurie Samson, artistic director of the Royal & Derngate, Northampton.
The Traverse Theatre, which operates year round in Edinburgh showcasing new writing, dominates the nominations with Flesh & Blood & Fish & Fowl, White, The Author, Teenage Riot and En Route all in with the chance of winning awards.
Other shows which have been nominated include Roadkill, Cora Bissett‘s site specific play based on the true story of a young Nigerian girl discovered in Glasgow, which explores the hidden world of sex-trafficking. The play, which is nominated in the innovation category, is also presented in association with the Traverse.
Also nominated is Guy Masterson‘s I, Claudia, a one woman show written and performed by Kristen Thomson. The play tells the story of adolescent Claudia suffering the triple afflictions of puberty, unpopularity and her parent’s divorce through use of masks. Another nomination in the innovation category goes to Threshold at the Zoo Roxy. Based on the legend of Bluebeard, a violent French nobleman in the habit of murdering his wives, production company 19;29 have caused a stir, taking audiences out into the Edinburgh countryside by bus to see the performance and a cryptic promotional website.
The full list of nominees in the three categories is included below. The Total Theatre Awards will be presented on 27 August in a ceremony at Fringe Central, Crichton Street held at 12 noon.
Work presented by an Emerging company
Keepers – Pleasance and Plasticine Men at Pleasance Courtyard
Lip Service – Becki Gerrard at C Soco
Operation Greenfield – Little Bulb Theatre at Zoo Roxy
Sex Idiot – Briony Kimmings/Escalator East to Edinburgh at Zoo Roxy
Threshold – 19;29/Roxy Art House/Richard Demarco at Zoo Roxy
When We Meet Again (Introduced As Friends) – Me and the Machine at Forest Fringe/Dance Base
Physical / Visual Theatre
Cargo – Iron-Oxide Ltd at Leith Links West (Scotland)
Flesh & Blood & Fish & Fowl – Barrow Street Theatre (New York) at The Traverse at St Stephen’s (USA)
Harlekin – Derevo at Pleasance Courtyard (Russia)
Julien Cottereau: Imagine Toi – Assembly/TRSS & Little One at Assembly @ Princes Street (French)
Pas Perdus – Les Argonautes at Zoo Southside (Belgium)
Maria de Buenos Aires – Teatro Di Capua
The Life and Times of Girl A – Scottish Dance Theatre at Zoo Southside
Sticks and Stones and Broken Bones – Bunk Puppets and Scamp Theatre at Underbelly
Tabu – Nofit State at Nofit State Circus
White – Catherine Wheels at Traverse @ Scottish Book Trust
Innovation
30 Days to Space – Bootworks Theatre at Forest Fringe Café
The Author – News from Nowhere at Traverse Theatre
The Ballad of Backbone Joe – The Suitcase Royale at Pleasance
En Route – One Step at a Time Like This & Richard Jordan Productions at Traverse Theatre
I, Claudia – Guy Masterson/TTI in association with Crows Theatre and Brian Robertson at Assembly @ George Street
Like You Were Before – Deborah Pearson at Forest Fringe @ Bristo Hall
Odyssey – George Mann & Nir Paldi and Theatre Ad Infinitum at Pleasance Dome
Reykjavik – Shams/Escalator East to Edinburgh/Time Won’t Wait at The Bongo Club
Roadkill – Ankur Productions/Pachamama Productions at Traverse Theatre
Teenage Riot – Ontroerend Goed, Kopergietery, Drum Theatre Plymouth, Richard Jordan Productions Ltd at Traverse Theatre
The full judging panel for this year’s awards were also announced as:
Fiona Allan – Artistic Director, Wales Millennium Centre
Matt Burman – Executive Producer, Norfolk & Norwich Festival
Steve Cramer – Theatre critic for The List, Edinburgh
Jo Crowley – Producer (including four previous TT Award winners)
Robert Jude Daniels – Senior lecturer, University of Chichester
Stephen Freeman – Artistic Director PULSE Festival, Ipswich
Ben Harrison – Artistic Director, Grid Iron – TT Board member
John Lee – Course Leader in Street Arts, University of Winchester
Donald Hutera – Critic, The Times
Dorothy Max Prior – Editor, Total Theatre Magazine
Tina Rasmussen – Director of Performing arts at Harbourfront Centre, Toronto
Laurie Samson – Artistic Director, Royal & Derngate, Northampton
