The jury kept themselves very busy during August, going to performances and events, inscrutably assessing what they had seen. The jury came up with their own criteria for the awards categories, offering an unbiased and entirely unique point of view in their final awards ceremony.

The International Festival Young People’s Awards are an initiative of the Canadian research and performance group Mammalian Diving Reflex, which since the mid-1990s has been developing artistic projects for children and teenagers.

At the centre of their experimental work are the viewpoints and experiences of young people and the question of how art can be used for a more comprehensive vision of a democratic and inclusive society.

This year, the Young People’s Jury awards were:

The show we would send into outer space so that it’s the first thing aliens see when they want to find out about humanity: Standard Life Opening Event: Deep Time

"This show was an absolute visual delight in an incredible historic setting. I hope the aliens enjoy it as much as I did!"

- Daisy

The award for the ‘best use of paper’ goes to: Flit

"Made their entire set out of paper, made stop motion wheels out of paper, and even their animations were made out of paper…In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if they were made out of paper…"

- Sean

The award for the dancer better than Beyoncé: Chotto Desh

"Goes to the show that with one lone dancer and numerous mind-warping body movements managed to create a display more beautiful than most could do with 20."

- Louis

The award for the weirdest one: Shake

"A show written mostly in French with a cast of 5 and only a few beach huts as a set. However despite this, the comedy, including a few terrible doctor jokes and a cruel practical joke, still let me enjoy the show even though I had no idea what was going on most of the time."

- Jordon

The show that made me think: The Destroyed Room

"A show based on a photo, based on a painting. A political discussion that quickly turns into a metaphorical disaster. Walls tumble, lives are destroyed, and contestants on a televised political debate crash and burn. The characters are truly compelling, as is the concept."

- Charlotte

The Best Costuming, Hair and Make-up: Barry Humphries' Weimar Cabaret

The show that left a lasting impression: monumental

"The award for the show that left a lasting impression goes to a show that really resonated with me, and that’s why I’m honoured to be the one to present it. Not only does this show capture some of the biggest struggles we face today, the combination of music, dance and projections encompasses the theme of humanity’s ignorance and resilience. To sum it up, the performance was beautifully unnerving."

- Lily

The show I felt most lost in: Sigur Rós

"This performance blew me away. It featured 3 performers, who created and played ethereal sounds. They experimented with different musical objects to produce monumental sounds, such as playing the electric guitar with a bow. I gazed in awe at the captivating light sequences the band played along to. I was so taken in, I didn’t flinch, or even draw a breath throughout the entire show."

- James

The award for the show with the best set: The Toad Knew

"A show which used their set not only to create a vivid and imaginative sense of virtual reality and space but also to further the sense of surrealism, wonder and beauty brought by the talented cast."

- Louis

The award for the funniest and most serious: Alan Cumming Sings Sappy Songs

"The show that made us all laugh by telling us about Liza Minelli and her powder puff. Also for making us feel emotional by telling us another story but this time about finding his granddad."

- Ashleigh

This performance is winning the award for being the most ‘churchy': Songlines

"Although, this performance allowed the public to sing along with the choir and required no tickets , it is strong in our minds because of one reason and one reason only. Snapchat filters. If you don’t know what I mean it’s basically like taking a photo/video with a special effect that changes the way you look. This is memorable because a certain someone took a photo of a tenor singer filtered into wearing a watermelon as a hat. But I’m getting off topic, so without further ado I would like to present the award for ‘most churchy one’ to, drumroll please…"

- Marc

The award for the Judgiest Audience: Magdalena Kožená and Malcolm Martineau

"The award for the judgiest audience goes to the show where we received the most dirty looks from the other concert-goers."

- Lily

Show that portrayed everything wrong with the 1930s, 40s , 50s etc: Così Fan Tutte

"The show that this award is going to covered some very touchy themes. Most shows wouldn’t even try to cover the themes this show covered. This show made audiences very uncomfortable, sparking controversy. The funny thing is that this show was portrayed as a comedy… this was not a comedy."

- Olivia

The Award for the show that was sex to my ears: Berlioz's Roméo et Juliette

"Montagues and Capulets,
A story of two young lovers who tragically met.
Berlioz had lots of hoes
The Capulets always wanted a square go.

The old people smell of sweat
Definitely my favourite of them yet

Romeo looked for love that couldn’t be found
Then Juliet’s Da went
Eh naw pal
That’s no sound."

- Harry

The award for the show with the most striking visuals: Hopelessness

"With a massive screen playing videos of various women lip-syncing to the songs being played this performance was sure to make a lasting impression."

- Emma

The award for the best playwrights: Anything That Gives Off Light

"Dragged everyone on a journey to the states and then to the Scottish highlands. The Scottish language is not one that is easily understood but the actions that followed made it all the clearer."

- Rebecca

The award for the show we’d most like to see recreated with cats: Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia

"Because:

Cats; andIt’d be funny to see the cats interact with the different instruments."

- Emma

Most hottest, most buff, most shirtless, most homo-erotic male dancers on stage: Scottish Ballet

Best Choreography: Natalia Osipova and Guests

The best of the best: Anything That Gives Off Light

"Ladies and gentlemen it’s the award we’ve all been waiting for. It’s been a tough competition this year with many amazing productions. But, there can only be one winner of the best of the best award…"

- Daisy