The Stamping Ground – which features the hits of Celtic rock band Runrig – has been celebrated for its music and sound at the Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland (CATS).
The new musical, written by Morna Young, received rave reviews from Scottish fans and critics when it premiered in July at Eden Court, which commissioned the show.
And yesterday (September 11), the Inverness theatre and Raw Material production received an accolade for the Best Music and Sound at the 2022 CATS awards.
Runrig’s Calum and Rory Macdonald were delighted with the news. They said: “Big congratulations to Raw Material and Eden Court for picking up the CATS Music and Sound Award for The Stamping Ground.
“The award is thoroughly deserved. The stage production and performance of the songs have been of the highest order and the interpretation of the songs both powerful and sensitive.”
We're thrilled to have won @catsawards for Best Music and Sound with #TheStampingGround! 🏆😺
Congrats to @RAWMaterialArts, John Kielty + @GarryJBoyle and to @Runrig1973 for the tunes.👏
We're back on The Stamping Ground in 2023!⬇️
🎟️ https://t.co/qLSNAMHDCi pic.twitter.com/lWq2sphqIP
— Eden Court Highlands (@EdenCourt) September 12, 2022
Susannah Armitage, Eden Court’s senior producer, added: “It is a testament to the enormous amount of talent and hard work that musical director John Kielty, sound designer Garry Boyle and our hugely talented band and company put into the arrangements of the songs.
“It is also thanks to Calum and Rory Macdonald for being generous and trusting enough to let us transpose their songs to a musical setting.
“We cannot wait to bring this musical back to audiences at Eden Court and on tour in 2023.”
National Theatre of Scotland’s new show Orphans, Tron Theatre’s Underwood Lane, and Traverse Theatre’s Move were also nominated for the accolade. The awards ceremony took place at Glasgow’s Tron Theatre on Sunday September 11.
CATS celebrates the actors, directors, playwrights and other Scottish theatre artists who have made the most thrilling contributions of the year.
The Stamping Grounds tells story of Scottish community
Set in a rural Scottish community, The Stamping Ground tells the story of Euan and Annie who return home but find themselves lost in a place now filled with more tourists than residents.
The heart of their community – the local pub – is for sale and tensions are rising about the future of the place they call home.
“It is a story rooted in contemporary Highland experience and is underpinned by Runrig’s beautiful, evocative and well-loved songs which provide the rhythmic and lyrical backbone to the musical.”
Susannah said: “The Stamping Ground is a story of home and community.
“It is a story rooted in contemporary Highland experience and is underpinned by Runrig’s beautiful, evocative and well-loved songs which provide the rhythmic and lyrical backbone to the musical.”
The P&J was invited to sit in on one of the show’s rehearsals before the musical premiered. You can watch our footage – which includes an interview with the show’s director Luke Kernaghan and actors Neshla Caplan and Brian James O’Sullivan – below.
The Stamping Ground at Eden Court
The Stamping Ground will return to Eden Court in Inverness from Friday May 5 to Saturday May 13. Tickets can be purchased here.
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