Critics’ Awards For Theatre In Scotland 2026: Winners Revealed

Broadway + NYC

Broadway

Off-Broadway

Off-Off Broadway

Cabaret

Dance

Opera

Classical Music

Eastern

Central

Western

West End

WEST END

UK Regional

International

Canada

Australia / New Zealand

Europe

Asia

Latin America

Africa / Middle East

Entertainment

TV/Movies

Music

Ctrl + K to open · Esc to close

The awards were presented by Gavin Mitchell at the Citizens Theatre on Sunday, 21 June

POPULAR

Get all the top news & discounts for UK & beyond.

The 2026 Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland, which were presented at the Citizens Theatre , Glasgow celebrated the breadth and depth of dramatic work produced in Scotland with no fewer than 10 different productions being recognised across the 11 different award categories this year.

Get all the top news & discounts for UK & beyond.

“Scottish Theatre has had a bumper year with productions ranging from large-scale extravaganzas to single performer productions, from works rooted in their locality to major international co-productions, from pieces by long-established performers and creators to works by a new generation of talent,” says CATS co-convenor, Joyce McMillan. “The standard of work created across the year has been particularly impressive, and this is reflected in the spread of the 11 awards over 10 different winning shows”

“This has been an important year for the Citizens Theatre ,” adds CATS co-convenor, Mark Brown . “We looked back on the legacy of the great Giles Havergal and celebrated the future of this vital part of Scotland’s theatre landscape in its newly – and gloriously - refurbished building.”

“Over the years Dominic Hill has established himself as force in Scottish Theatre, firstly at Dundee Rep, then at the Traverse Theatre, and, since 2011, at the Citz. The consistently high quality of his work is reflected in this year’s CATS in which he receives a record-breaking 6th Best Director award for the Citizens Theatre ’s beautiful staging of Beckett’s classic Waiting for Godot, which was co-produced with Liverpool Everyman and Bolton Octagon.”

“Windblown offers a perfect cameo of what Scottish theatre in the 2020s can achieve, at its magnificent best; and it richly deserves its place in this year’s CATS Awards as Scotland’s Best Production of the Year." said Joyce McMillan, The Scotsman.

Heading the awards with Best Production and Best Use of Music and Sound was Karine Polwart’s Windblown. The piece, which was produced by Raw Material, was inspired by the story of the Sabal palm which had stood in the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh for more than 200 years. Having outgrown the glass house, this oldest living specimen in the collection, had to be chopped down in 2021.

Jessica Hardwick picked up her second Outstanding Performance Award (following Knives in Hens in 2018) for Gush at the Traverse Theatre. Also receiving an Outstanding Performance Award was the inimitable Johnny McKnight for his dazzling exploration of the changing world of the pantomime Dame, She’s Behind You! ( National Theatre of Scotland /Traverse Theatre).

The High Life: The Musical ( National Theatre of Scotland and Dundee Rep in association with Aberdeen Performing Arts and Capital Theatres) scooped Best Ensemble award for a cast that included the four actors from the original 1990s BBC TV series: Alan Cumming , Forbes Masson , Siobhán Redmond and Patrick Ryecart .

Artistic Director of the Citizens Theatre , Dominic Hill, recorded a record-breaking 6th win as Best Director picking up the award for Waiting for Godot, a Citizens Theatre , Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse, Bolton Octagon co-production starring Matthew Kelly and George Costigan .

Water Colour, the debut play by Milly Sweeney, (a Byre Theatre production in partnership with Playwrights’ Studio, Scotland and Pitlochry Festival Theatre), which won Best New Play, was one of over 90 new works staged across Scotland in 2025-6.

Best Production for Children and Young People this year went to the Citizens Theatre for Beauty and the Beast with Perth Theatre picking up the Outstanding Pantomime Award for The Snow Queen.

The Best Design Award was won by Danish-Japanese set and Costume Designer , Mai Katsume, with Simon Wilkinson , (lighting design), for the Vanishing Point-Katapult Teater co-production What and I’m Here for and Best Technical was awarded to Shotput Theatre for Arlington.

The awards were presented by leading Scottish actor Gavin Mitchell, best known for his playing of the inimitable Boaby the Barman in the much-loved television series Still Game and, most recently, American President John Adams . Mitchell – who is currently filming the latest series of Shetland and will be back on stage in Glasgow this Christmas in Scrooge: The Musical at the SEC Armadillo – began his career as a scene painter and stage ‘extra’ at the Citizens Theatre back in the 1980s.

The Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland are generously supported by. Theatre Studies at the University of Glasgow (Outstanding Performance) BECTU (Best Technical), Equity (Best Ensemble) BB Hair Collective (Best Design). the Gilded Balloon (Best Show for Children and Young People, and general sponsor Nick Hern Books. The awards also received generous support this year from guarantors Creative Scotland, and from the Citizens drinks suppliers, Corney and Barrow.

Get an Alert Each Time Marissa Faith Curley Writes

Videos

Recommended For You

Sign up for announcements, and exclusive discounts on tickets to your favorite shows!

© 2026 - Copyright Wisdom Digital Media , all rights reserved. Privacy Policy

_Originally reported by [BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/westend/article/2026-Critics-Awards-Winners-Announced-For-Theatre-In-Scotland-20260622)._