The Scottish Emerging Theatre Awards 2025
The Scottish Emerging Theatre Awards are awards for emerging theatre-makers based in Scotland, chosen by emerging theatre-makers based in Scotland.
We want to celebrate the amazing work done by early-career and emerging artists that often goes unrecognised by larger awards. In the current climate, we believe that it’s important to champion the lesser-known work and provide people with an opportunity to be commended for their work!
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Nominations for 2025 are now closed.
2025 RECIPIENTS
We are delighted to share the 2025 recipients of the Scottish Emerging Theatre Awards.
AILA SWAN (A NOTE TO REMEMBER)
Aila Swan is a producer and performer based in Glasgow with a specific interest in working with and championing original musical theatre from Scotland based artists.
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In 2025, Aila founded A Note To Remember - a musical theatre scratch night in Glasgow which has gone on to run four successful events this year. Aila has worked to create a community of musical theatre lovers and ANTR has provided space for over fifty artists to come together to celebrate their work.
CORMAC MYLES
Cormac Myles is a playwright and director based in Glasgow, working within a variety of contexts.
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​In 2025, Cormac Myles produced his first two plays, toured care homes and schools, assistant-directed two Play, Pie & Pint shows - including one co-presented by the Traverse - and began rehearsals for Beauty and the Beast at the Citizens Theatre.
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CHALLUM BROWN
Challum is a freelance set and costume designer based in Glasgow. He is very passionate about the world of live theatre and the promotion of the production arts and design to young people.
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​Challum has had some incredible opportunities in 2025, such as designing for His Majesty’s Theatre in Aberdeen for The Lyric Club’s production of the Witches of Eastwick and also designing the set for the Scottish Amateur Premiere of Les Miserables at the King’a Theatre in Glasgow.
ÉIMI QUINN
Éimi is an actor and playwright from Springburn whose work focuses on sharing working class stories.
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​In 2025, Éimi toured her second play Dookin Oot across Scotland, with great critical success. And her third play, Hauns Aff Ma Haunted Bin, sold out at A Play, A Pie and A Pint. She also ran workshops for new writers.
ISAAC FROST & LOWEN HUNT (FROM SPEAKBEAST)
Isaac Frost and Lowen Hunt are the Edinburgh based members of award-winning all-Trans theatre company Speakbeast.
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​In 2025, Speakbeast brought their award-winning show The Freemartin to SPRINT Festival at Camden People’s Theatre, marking their London debut. They joined Theatre Deli’s SHIFT+SPACE program with new show Someone Has Got to Be John, which transferred to Edinburgh Fringe, receiving critical acclaim.
KATIE SLATER
Katie Slater is an early-career director working freelance across Scotland’s central belt, with a passion for music led storytelling.
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​In 2025, Katie directed The Haunting of Agnes Gilfrey (PPP), It’s Not Ok (Wonder Fools, NSPCC) and the Fringe hit Mary: A Gig Theatre Show. She continued with the Wonder Fools Youth Board, worked as an assistant director and facilitator at LYT, and in arts admin roles with Gilded Balloon and RCS.
LUCY BETH
Lucy Beth is an award-winning emerging performer and theatre-maker from Inverurie, Aberdeenshire. She makes and performs work in Doric as a means of continuing to render the dialect present.
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​Lucy performed her Doric show, Ma Name Is Isabelle, at Edinburgh Fringe and Dundee Fringe, receiving 5-star reviews. Her Doric poems won her a place in the final of I Am Loud Productions’ slam poetry competition. She self-produced and performed two of her plays at Number 30 to a sold-out audience.
MILLY SWEENEY
Milly Sweeney is a writer/performer based in Glasgow.
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​2025 marked Milly’s professional playwriting debut with “Water Colour.” She also wrote & performed in “Almond,” produced by the SMHAF, & wrote “The Big Day,” which ran at the Edinburgh Fringe. Milly recently won the Stage Debut Award for Best Writer, & is ending the year doing panto in Cumbernauld.
MORGAN WOODS, ROWAN DOUGLAS & REBECCA DUNN (GAUN YERSEL' WORKSHOP)
Gaun Yersel’ Workshop is an actors gym & creative hub in Glasgow for professional actors to continue to work on their craft and build creative community in the form of workshops led by fellow actors, creatives & industry peers.
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​In 2025, Gaun Yersel’ offered 18 workshops, with more than 160 actors attending. They launched their website with a resource hub, & set up a community group chat for actors to connect. All the work since their launch in 2023 has been self-funded & led by their core values: COMMUNITY, CRAFT, & CURIOSITY.
SHAMAMA FATIMA
Shamama Fatima is a Pakistani Director/Performer based in Edinburgh, crafting experimental, metaphorical work on memory, intimacy, and identity.
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​In 2025, Shamama directed two productions, assisted on a show at The Lyceum supported by FST Bursary, and was nominated for the Creative Edinburgh Development Award. Currently, Shamama is working on a play supported by Moniack Mhor Youth Led Fund.
TAYLOR DYSON & CALUM KELLY (ELFIE PICKET)
Elfie Picket Theatre are a Dundee based theatre duo consisting of Taylor Dyson (Scots Scriever/performer) and Calum Kelly (writer/composer/director). They produce new writing, have a focus on Scots language, working class stories, community, music and poetry.
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​2025 highlights include Goodbye Dreamland Bowlarama at A Play, A Pie & A Pint with D&GArtsFest. The Fives King at Dundee Fringe, Mither/Daughter at Summerhall Surgeries, Age o Lanesomeness at Push The Boat Out. As well as Taylor becoming Scots Scriever and our community projects, such as Art Angel.
VEE SMITH & SADIQ ALI (THE UNLIKELY FRIENDSHIP OF FEATHER BOY & TENTACLE GIRL)
Vee and Sadiq are performance makers creating queer stories through contemporary circus and visual theatre.
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​This year Vee and Sadiq created their first work for young audiences, "The Unlikely Friendship of Feather Boy and Tentacle Girl". Commissioned by Imaginate for the Edinburgh International Children's Festival, produced by Catherine Wheels in association with the National Theatre for Scotland.
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2025 SHORTLIST
Aila Swan (A Note to Remember)
Alice Glass
Aoife Summers
Aric Hanscomb-Ryrie
Challum Brown
Rachel O'Regan, Emery Schaffer, Jaïrus Obayomi, Kirin Saeed, Betsy King, Kelsey Sullivan, Emily Ingram, Brooke Walker, Cara Watson, Layla Rozelle, Laverne Edmonds, Sally Quinn, Samuela Noumtchuet (F-Bomb Theatre, Monumental)
Morgan Woods, Rebecca Dunn and Rowan Douglas (Gaun Yersel' Workshop)
Robbie Hail
Harry Walker​
Kelsey Sullivan
Vee Smith and Sadiq Ali (The Unlikely Friendship of Feather Boy and Tentacle Girl)
Ciaran Drysder
Cormac Myles
Laura Milton and Eve Miller (Cutty Sark Theatre, Devil’s Point)
Jenna Stones and Lucia Ireland (DollsnRags Productions)
Chelsea Grace and Elizabeth Robbins (Audaciously Tenacious Theatre)
Dug Campbell
Taylor Dyson and Calum Kelly (Elfie Picket)
Lowen Hunt and Isaac Frost (from Speakbeast)
Éimi Quinn
Lucy Beth
Katie Slater
Till Schindler, Garrick Pagel, Lola Rose Wood, Leah Byrne, Yashique Chalil and Tiger Mitchell (Heads on Crooked Collective)
Milly Sweeney
Morgan E. Ross
Shamama Fatima
Lex Joyce, Isla Campbell, Robyn Rielly, Jess Ferrier and Abi Price (Shark Bait Theatre)
Ellie Jay Stevens
Caden Scott, James Wright, Courtney Basset and Alex Medland (Half Trick Theatre)​​
2025 NOMINEES
Thank you to everyone who nominated an emerging theatre maker this year!
In no particular order, here are your nominees for 2025:
Rebecca Munro, Megan O'Grady, Sydney Mulligan Eva Winton, Hannah Fraser, Milly Sweeney and Lucy Pedersen (Pure Class Theatre)
Albert Suriñach Campos
Gwen M. Dolan
Gwen M. Dolan and Dylan Mooney (Epona Productions)
Lucy Beth
Maria Woodside
Lucy Pedersen, Meghan Wallace and Michael Johnson (Without Compromise Theatre)
Katy Nixon
Cat McInally
Trystan Youngjohn
Morgan Woods, Rebecca Dunn and Rowan Douglas (Gaun Yersel')
Caden Scott, James Wright, Courtney Bassett and Alex Medland (Half Trick Theatre)
Éimi Quinn
Shelley Middler
Amelia Rodger ​​
​Hannah Buyers
Vee Smith and Sadiq Ali (The Unlikely Friendship of Feather Boy and Tentacle Girl)
Laura Milton and Eve Miller (Cutty Sark Theatre, Devil’s Point)
Aila Swan (A Note to Remember)
Jake Sleet
Will Osbon
Matilda Seddon
​Matilda Seddon, Becky O’Donnell and Will Osbon (Filfbag Theatre)
Evanthia Rogkoti and Alexandra Tsiapi (Terpsikores)
Aoife Sutton
Morgan E. Ross
Ben Asensio, Scott Duncan, Emily Powell, Holly Stewart and Iona Wait (Cor’ Blimey Productions)
​Ingram Noble
Ben Waddle and Beth Key (State Ae That Theatre)
Ben Waddle and Olivia Napier (Ollipops)
Eilidh Macdonald
Abi Price​​
Roza Stevenson and Amber Docherty (Happy Sad Productions)
Amber Docherty, Roza Stevenson and Josh Wood (Moving On: A New Musical)
Ewan Jardine, Heather Linn and Innis Thorborn (Scotch Bonnet Productions)
Taylor Dyson and Calum Kelly (Elfie Picket)
Cormac Myles
Liam Rees
Aaron Clason, Aric Hanscombe-Ryrie, Aydan Macdonald, Lauren Davina and Robert McLean (The Crunch Collective)
Lauren McIntee-Smith
Moira Hamilton, Rebecca Russell, Frederik Bang, Lexi Crockford and Magnus Kelly (Martyr Theatre Company)
Ciaran Drysder
Lauren McIntee-Smith
Steve Lauder-Russell
Milly Sweeney
Alice Glass
Ellie Jay Stevens
Michael Cartledge
Aoife Summers
Chelsea Grace and Elizabeth Robbins (Audaciously Tenacious Theatre)
Kelsey Sullivan
Till Schindler, Garrick Pagel, Lola Rose Wood, Leah Byrne, Yashique Chalil and Tiger Mitchell (Heads on Crooked Collective)
Aric Hanscomb-Ryrie
​Aaron Clason
Kate Stamoulis
Molly Geddes
Ruairi Francis McCormack
Kit Laveri
Lucia Ireland
Scott Duncan and Iona Wait (the_zoloft_project, Tay View)
​Clare Robinson
​Cameron O’Dwyer​​​
Ben Ramsay, Gabriel von Spreckelsen and Mhairi Longwill (The Stag and the Hound)
Briony Martha
Briony Martha and Zak Reay-Barry (Do Astronauts Masturbate in Space?)
Jenna Stones and Lucia Ireland (DollsnRags Productions)
Philomene Cheynet
Rebecca Donovan
Ivan Hamshaw-Thomas
Lex Joyce, Isla Campbell, Robyn Rielly, Jess Ferrier and Abi Price (Shark Bait Theatre)
Harry Walker
Ethan H.M.M
Ewan Little
Shamama Fatima
Undercoat Theatre Company
​Cat McInally and Megan Nicol (Luna Mageia)
​Chelsea Grace
Neve Adams
Katie Slater
Robbie Hail
Dug Campbell
Dougal Thomson and Lisa McDonald (Simply Surreal Theatre)
Ava Gillespie, Brooke Leslie, Meera Lavin, Olivia Altay, Mirren FIA and Mhairi Campbell (Four Door Theatre)
​Lowen Hunt and Isaac Frost (from Speakbeast)
Challum Brown
Authentically False Productions
Abbie Rough
​Jack Gardner
Rebecca Munro
Alexander Artis
​Ingram Noble, Lucian Burlingame, John Stuart, Aidan Curley, Lewis Gillon and Hannah Mary Taylor (The Naked Neds)
The Creative Team at Reconnect Theatres
The cast and crew of Monumental (F-Bomb Theatre)
How SETA 25 works:
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This year we have revamped SETA - instead of having categories we will be selecting 12 artists (or groups of artists) to receive a 2025 Scottish Emerging Theatre Award.
This might look like an individual who has improved a lot, or had a big year creatively. It could also be a company who has done brilliant work, in which case you’d nominate the group behind the company. It also might be a show that you loved, in which case you’d nominate the creative team. This allows us to celebrate even more of the brilliant early-career artists working in Scotland!
e.g last year our Company of the Year was Scylla’s Bite, if they were nominated this year that would be Abbie Lowe & Rebekah Smith. Our Production of the Year was Kev Campbell Was He, in which case you’d nominate Alexander Tait & Ivan Hamshaw-Thomas.
What do you get if you receive an award?
We will announce the recipients online, and give them a profile on our website and social media to shout about their work.
Recipients will also have a meeting with the Framework team in the new year, where we will see what we can do to support their careers. This may involve introductions to industry professionals or help with a funding application.
Each recipient will also be invited to a celebration event in December 2025 to meet other recipients, network, and celebrate their achievements.
Who is eligible?
Anyone who identifies as an emerging or early-career Scotland-based theatre maker is eligible. This could be technicians, designers, producers, writers, directors, performers and so many more! Anyone who makes theatre. You can nominate yourself, or others.​
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​However, core Framework team members or Board Members are ineligible. We appreciate the emerging theatre sector is small, and a group you may want to nominate may contain a Framework Board Member, so If you have questions about whether this applies to your work please email us at hello@frameworktheatre.com. Alternatively, nominate away and we will confirm eligibility when we are longlisting!
What is the selection process?
1. Nominations
Nominations close at 5pm on Monday 13th October 2025. You can nominate yourself or others. Only emerging theatre-makers can submit nominations. You can nominate as many times as you like for each award. The number of nominations for each artist does not matter, they will all be assessed the same.
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2. Information Gathering
After nominations close, all nominees will be contacted and asked to fill out a short form telling us what they’ve done this year so we can get the best sense of their work and how they might fit the award description! By having the nominees fill this out themselves, it puts all nominees on a level playing field. Who knows their work better than themselves?
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3. Longlisting & Shortlisting
Based on the information from stage 2, the core Framework team will then assess the nominations, creating a longlist and a shortlist for each award.
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4. Panel Stage
This shortlist will be sent to a panel of emerging theatre-makers who have worked with Framework since the last awards in the past year. Between them they will select our 12 awardees!
5. Announcements
Recipients will be contacted via email and announced on social media!
They will also have a meeting with the Framework team in the new year, where we will see what we can do to support their careers. This is not financial support, but may involve introductions to industry professionals or help with a funding application.