Shortlist for Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland revealed

The shortlists have been announced for the 2026 Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland, more commonly known as the CATS.

Leading the nominations are What I’m Here For and Windblown, with five nominations each. Raw Material received nine nominations across three productions, while the National Theatre of Scotland secured seven nominations spanning four productions. Citizens Theatre picked up six nominations across four productions, including three for Waiting for Godot.

The productions shortlisted for Best Production are She’s Behind You!, The High Life: The Musical, Waiting for Godot and Windblown.

Among the performers recognised in the Outstanding Performance category are Johnny McKnight for She’s Behind You!, Mandipa Kabanda for Saint Joan, Jessica Hardwick for Gush and Lærke Schjærff Engelbrecht, who becomes the first international performer nominated in the category for What I’m Here For.

The Best New Play category includes Fish by Sean O’Neil, Stand and Deliver: The Lee Jeans Sit-In by Frances Poet, Water Colour by Milly Sweeney and Windblown by Karine Polwart.

The awards ceremony will take place at the Citizens Theatre on Sunday 21 June.

Full nominations are below.

Outstanding Pantomime
Aladdie (Gaiety, Ayr)
Oor Wee Mammy McGoose (King’s Kirkcaldy)
Puss in Boots (Carrigans, Blantyre)
The Snow Queen (Perth Theatre)

Outstanding Performance
Sandy Grierson – Fred Goodwin in Make It Happen
Jessica Hardwick – Gush
Robert Jack – Sheriff of Stirling-Stella-Ham in Weans In The Woods
Mandipa Kabanda – Joan of Arc in Saint Joan
Johnny McKnight – She’s Behind You!
Karine Polwart – Windblown
Lærke Schjærff Engelbrecht – Flora in What I’m Here For
Sam Stopford – Mephistopheles in Doctor Faustus

Best Ensemble
Stand and Deliver: The Lee Jeans Sit-In
The High Life: The Musical
Waiting for Godot
Water Colour

Best Director
Lucy Ireland and Jim Manganello – Arlington
Stewart Laing – Saint Joan
Dominic Hill – Waiting for Godot
Matthew Lenton – What I’m Here For

Best Design
Anna Yates, Emma Jones and Rob Willoughby – Arlington
Rae Smith and Bruno Poet – One Day
Mai Katsume and Simon Wilkinson – What I’m Here For
Neil Haynes – Windblown

Best Music and Sound
Forbes Masson, Alan Cumming, Sarah de Tute, Tommy Penny and Sarah Travis – The High Life: The Musical
Dave Hook – Wallace
Mark Melville – What I’m Here For
Karine Polwart, Pippa Murphy and David Milligan – Windblown

Best Technical Presentation
Arlington
Saint Joan
The Glass Menagerie
What I’m Here For

Best Production for Children and Young People
Beauty and the Beast
Cinderella (A Fairy Tale)
The Ideas Jukebox
Tongue Twister

Best New Play
Fish by Sean O’Neil
Stand and Deliver: The Lee Jeans Sit-In by Frances Poet
Water Colour by Milly Sweeney
Windblown by Karine Polwart

Best Production
She’s Behind You!
The High Life: The Musical
Waiting for Godot
Windblown