Cumbernauld Theatre Trust is celebrating the recognition of two of its recent productions, Special Delivery and Treasure Island, which have been nominated for this year’s prestigious Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland (CATS).
The nominations shine a spotlight on the organisation’s bold artistic vision and its unique collaborative commissioning model; a model now under threat following Creative Scotland’s decision to withdraw core funding.
Nominated for Best Production for Children and Young People, Special Delivery was co-produced with Visible Fictions and Scottish Opera and staged in Cumbernauld’s intimate Studio Theatre in winter 2024. The show blended live music, original songs, storytelling and playful animation to delight audiences aged 3–7.
Also nominated is Treasure Island, a reimagined version of the Stevenson classic by Ross MacKay, which premiered on Cumbernauld’s Theatre’s main stage in 2022 and returned in 2024, during a successful Scottish tour.
Cumbernauld Theatre’s distinctive approach to making work centres around an authentic process of collaboration between artists, community and staff. The organisation’s commissioning and producing process gave rise to new ways of working and established exciting new artistic collaborations. It’s a model that promoted creativity, removed barriers to access key roles in theatre, and sought to open the commissioning process to engage the community and ultimately aimed to make theatre production more equitable.
However, in January 2025, Creative Scotland removed Cumbernauld Theatre from its Multi-Year Funding portfolio, a decision that effectively ends the organisation’s ability to commission and produce original work. Without core funding, the model that made these CATS-nominated productions possible can no longer be sustained.
“These nominations demonstrate what is possible when we invest in creative people and support long-term artistic development,” said Sarah Price, Chief Executive of Cumbernauld Theatre. “We’ve shown that a new, inclusive way of making theatre can deliver work of exceptional quality and community relevance. Yet, without core funding, we are no longer in a position to continue producing. That is the true cost of this decision.”
“This isn’t just about awards,” Price continued. “It’s about a model that worked – for artists, for audiences, for our town. That model has been recognised on a national stage, even as it is being dismantled by a funding decision that makes no sense in terms of either artistic merit or community impact.” It is one of the few remaining producing theatres in a community facing deep economic inequality, and its loss will leave a significant cultural gap in North Lanarkshire and across Scotland.
Cumbernauld Theatre Trust continues to advocate for a reassessment of Creative Scotland’s decision and a renewed commitment to support place-based arts infrastructure.
