National Theatre of Scotland

NATIONAL THEATRE OF SCOTLAND WINS AT CATS

14/06/10

The eighth annual Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland were held at Edinburgh Festival Theatre yesterday and saw the National Theatre of Scotland add another award to its collection.

Mr Write by Rob Drummond won the award for Best Production for Children and Young People, an award won previously by the National Theatre of Scotland in 2006, 2007 and 2008.

Theatre critic for The Herald, Mary Brennan, said: “Rob Drummond’s Mr Write - part of a three-play, teen-friendly package staged by the National Theatre of Scotland - really went out on a bold limb by using unscripted material from the young audience to create an instant drama. If ever there was a way to make theatre relevant to teenagers, this surely was it - it had their input at its very heart.”

Mr Write, as part of tfd, was staged at the Tron Theatre in Glasgow from March 9 – 13 2010 for under 21s then toured the country.

Hailed as “an unmissable treat” by The Guardian and “ingenious, unexpectedly touching, and completely brilliant” by The Times; Mr Write was the show that hadn’t been written yet.

Each night a member of the audience would be selected by other audience members to become the main cast member and inspiration for the evening’s show.

On describing the show; writer, director and performer Rob Drummond said: “I want to connect with you for real. I don't want to move you with my words; I want you to move me with yours. There is nothing you can say that I will not understand. We are all the same.”

The Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland began in 2003 and since 2006 the National Theatre of Scotland has scooped no less than 18 awards.

Other notable winners from the 2010 awards were Dundee Rep, winning three awards for its production of The Elephant Man and Edinburgh’s Traverse Theatre, winning two awards for The Dark Things and one for The Goat, or Who is Sylvia?