The Stage Awards for Acting Excellence are a set of Scottish theatre awards which were established in 1995 to recognise outstanding theatre performances by individuals and companies on the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Organised by the theatrical newspaper The Stage, the initial award categories of Best Actor and Best Actress were joined by a Best Ensemble award in 1998. In 2006, an award for Best Solo Show was given for the first time. Award winners are chosen by a panel consisting of the newspaper's principal Fringe reviewers and are usually announced in a ceremony on the last Sunday of the Fringe Festival. There have been only two Joint Winners awarded, in 1998 and 1999. Award winners Best Actor 1995: Mark Pinkosh for Road Movie 1996: Edward Halstead for Bartleby 1997: John Stahl for Anna Weiss 1998: Chris Pickles for Love! Valour! Compassion! 1999: Tony Cownie for A Madman Sings to the Moon 2000: Greig Coetzee for White Men with Weapons 2001: Guy Masterson for Fern Hill and Other Dylan Thomas 2002: David Calvitto for Horse Country 2003: Richard Dormer for Hurricane 2004: James Urbaniak for Thom Pain (based on nothing) 2005: Phil Nichol for Edward Albee's The Zoo Story 2006: Paul Sparks for Finer Noble Gases 2007: Garry Cooper for "Long Time Dead" 2008: Ciaran McIntyre for "Deep Cut" 2009: Billy Mack for The Sound of My Voice 2010: Scott Kyle for Singin' I'm No a Billy He's a Tim 2011: Billy Mack for The Overcoat 2012: Bill Patterson for And No More Shall We Part 2013: 2014: 2015: 2016: 2017: Best Actress 1995: Lynn Ferguson for Heart and Sole 1996: Beth Fitzgerald for The House of Correction 1997: Eileen Walsh for Disco Pig 1998: Siobhan Redmond for Perfect Days + Alison Jean Baker for The Glace Bay Miner's Museum - Joint Winners 1999: Jacqueline Linke for Often I Find That I Am Naked 2000: Paola Dionisotti for Further Than the Furthest Thing 2001: Nichola McAuliffe for Bed Among the Lentils 2002: Sandy McDade for Iron 2003: Cait Davis for Those Eyes, That Mouth 2004: Pauline Goldsmith for Samuel Beckett's Not I 2005: Saskia Schuck for Cage 2006: Caroline O'Connor for Over The Rainbow 2007: Eugenia Caruso and Janet Bamford for Truckstop 2008: Rhian Blythe for Deep Cut 2009: Cora Bissett for Midsummer (A Play With Songs) 2011: Alessija Lause for Danny And The Deep Blue Sea 2012: Nichola McAuliffe for