Irish contemporary dance show Knots yesterday won a prestigious Fringe First award at the Edinburgh Festival.
The CoisCéim Dance Theatre production, running at the Aurora Nova venue at St Stephen's Church in Edinburgh, has been getting excellent reviews for the past couple of weeks.
The Fringe Firsts will be presented at a ceremony today in the Assembly Music Hall in Edinburgh, followed by a showcase performance.
Joining CoisCéim at the awards ceremony will be Irish actor and writer Aidan Dooley, whose solo show Tom Crean - Antarctic Explorer won a Fringe First last week.
Knots, an energetic dance piece choreographed by Liam Steel, premiered at last year's Dublin Fringe Festival.
Based loosely on the writings of RD Laing, it is danced by three couples and revolves around the fluctuating nature of personal relationships.
Lyn Gardner in the Guardian described it as never shunning "the truth about our nasty, brutish, bloody hearts or the insecurities that make up humans"; the Scotsman described it as "thrillingly athletic dancing"; and the Herald said it was "a remarkable, if bruising experience".
Knots was also nominated for two other awards in Edinburgh - the Carol Tambor award (to be announced today) and for a Total Theatre award.
This is CoisCéim's second Fringe First in two years. Last year, the company won the award for its boutique and hotel room dance piece Chamber Made.
Knots, which also won the Best Production award at the Dublin Fringe Festival last year, runs in Edinburgh until August 28th. It plays in Glasgow on September 2nd and is expected to tour internationally next year, with the possibility of a US tour also.
Meantime, nominations for the Stage Awards for Acting Excellence at the Fringe include Irish actor Orla Fitzgerald for her performance in Abbie Spallen's Pumpgirl at the Traverse Theatre.
In nominations for this year's Eddy (formerly the Perrier award), Irish hopes on Saturday night will be pinned on comedian David O'Doherty, the first Irish nomination in a number of years.
Another Irish hopeful is Limerick comedian Alan Bennett, shortlisted for a BBC Newcomer award.