Cathie Boyd
Cathie Boyd was born in Belfast and studied at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. She founded Glasgow-based music theatre company Cryptic in 1994, and has co-produced and directed all Cryptic productions to date. Her work has included numerous international collaborations including several Commissions from Tramway, Glasgow, the Singapore Arts Festival and Aldeburgh Music Festival and has been presented at festivals in Europe and throughout the Americas. Directing credits include Britten, Bryars, Dzinitis, Gounod, Kurtág, Kyriakides, Haddow, Holt, Marta, MacDonald, Neil Martin, Reich, Sciarrino, Shostakovich, Stockhaussen, Talbot, Varèse and Viñao.
Cathie has much experience with technologies in performance and was made a Fellow of NESTA to develop the visual staging of music through new software which led her to direct live visuals for Stravinsky’s Firebird with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and festivals across Europe. She recently developed a ‘Living Canvas’ – a new interactive tracking technology in collaboration with the Digital Design Studio at the Glasgow School of Art.
As a producer she created an international multi arts festival, Beckett Time , in 2000 celebrating the life, work and inspiration of Samuel Beckett presenting artists from Japan to Belgium and France to Brazil. In 2009 she created Cryptic Nights a monthly programme she co-produces at CCA Glasgow supporting cutting edge emerging artists. Cathie also directed the openings of the Royal Museum of Scotland, Glasgow’s Imax Cinema and Science Centre and the Glasgow City Halls with the BBC SSO. Film work: Optical Identity with the T’ang Quartet, screened at Adelaide Film Festival 2009 and Rewind with music by Craig Armstrong, at OUTFEST in LA 2009, Melbourne and Brisbane Queer Film Festivals 2010, Philadelphia Q-Fest and Festival des Nouveaux Cinémas 2010.
Awards include Outstanding Young Person Award, Junior Chambers of Commerce 2003, European Woman of Achievement for the Arts 1999, NESTA Fellowship and an Edinburgh Festival Fringe First for her production Parallel Lines in 1996.
Cathie's five favourite things:
- Swimming in the sea especially on Islay
- Samuel Beckett
- Best spa: Therme Vals in Switzerland – its like arriving in heaven too early
- Yves Klein’s 1962 – L’Arbre grande eponge bleue
- Trevor Chisman: Best Glasgow masseur
