Perth Theatre’s production of Lost at Sea, Morna Young’s play inspired by the loss of her father at sea when she was a child, has netted two awards at the prestigious Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland.

Ian Brown was named Best Director and the cast won Best Ensemble at the awards presented at Tramway, Glasgow on Sunday 9 June.

“In his welcome return to Scotland, Ian Brown brought out the musicality, communality and sense of the mythic in Morna Young's play about Moray-coast fishermen and their families,” says Mark Fisher, co-convenor of the CATS. “Spare and precise, Brown's staging moved like the ebb and flow of the North Sea itself.”

“Morna Young's Lost at Sea is a requiem to the fishermen of the North-East who perished in the waves,” adds Joy Watters of Across the Arts. “Almost operatic in construction, the voices of the ensemble, individually and as a chorus, create an unforgettable portrait of the hardships and heartbreak faced by the fishing community.”

Mike Griffiths, interim chief executive of Horsecross Arts, the creative organisation behind Perth Concert Hall and Perth Theatre said:

“We are delighted that Lost at Sea has received the CATS award for Best Ensemble and Best Director for Ian Brown, and we pass on our congratulations to them all. The production has been such a success and I’d like to give credit to the whole team at Perth Theatre for delivering such an excellent piece of work. The positive feedback we have had about Lost at Sea from audiences and critics has been overwhelming, social media took on a life of its own during the run with praise flooding in from all corners for writer Morna Young and our hugely talented and dedicated cast and crew. We couldn’t have made the work without the support of all our touring partners who believed in this new Scottish play and I’m very proud we were able to host the world premiere here in Perth.”

Best Male Performance award went to Holby City/Taggart star John Michie for his memorable performance as the senior fire officer suffering from severe post-traumatic stress after the first fire at the Glasgow School of Art in Rob Drummond’s The Mack (A Play, a Pie and a Pint at Oran Mor, presented in association with the Traverse Theatre).

The Traverse Theatre’s production Ulster American picked up Best Female Performance (Lucianne McEvoy) Best New Play (David Ireland) and Best Production.

Red Bridge Arts, the North Queensferry-based company, scooped the Best Production for Children and Young People award for the second year in a row, this year for Stick by Me co-produced with Andy Manley and Ian Cameron.

Elsewhere in the awards Best Design was won by Shona Reppe, Ailsa Paterson, Selene Cochrane and Chris Edser for Baba Yaga, the international co-production between Imaginate (Edinburgh) and Windmill Theatre Company (Adelaide, Australia). The Best Technical award was picked up by The End of Eddy, the Untitled Projects and Unicorn Theatre co-production, and Best Use of Music and Sound went to Birds of Paradise and the National Theatre of Scotland for My Left Right Foot – The Musical.

Monday 10 June 2019