Manchester Theatre Awards: The Nominations

THE nominations for this year's Manchester Theatre Awards, with Manchester Confidential as a media partner, are announced today and can be seen in detail below.

The shortlist has been drawn up by a panel of experienced theatre reviewers, many of whom served on the now-scrapped Manchester Evening News Theatre Awards, and the results will be announced in a month's time at a glittering ceremony to be held in a still-secret location.

It shows an especially good theatrical year for the Bolton Octagon under David Thacker, with a very strong showing in the Best Production nominations as well as all the local acting and design categories. But almost all of the local theatres, fringe venues and festivals are strongly represented, with The Royal Exchange, Library Theatre and Oldham Coliseum all jostling for pole position in several sections. The Lowry's visiting productions, including such enormously popular star-studded shows as Hamlet, King Lear and One Man, Two Guvnors, prove notably successful, completely dominating the Dance nominations, for instance.

Several of the big, spectacular shows at the Palace and Opera House have also proved as popular with the panel as with the paying public, particularly Ghost The Musical, which premiered here before going on to the West End and finally getting noticed by the nationals.

As might be expected, the 24:7 Festival has once again proved to be a mainstay of the Fringe, even if that's a description that 24:7 founder David Slack hates, and, just as unsurprisingly, the Manchester International Festival is well represented in the Special Entertainment section. But The Lowry's Studio has come on by leaps and bounds to dominate the Studio category and, gratifyingly, both the Best Newcomer and Best New Play categories look to be closely fought, indicating that the future for theatre in this area continues to be bright.  

BEST PRODUCTION

Hard Times, directed by Chris Honer for the Library Theatre at Murrays’ Mills

The Price, directed by David Thacker for Bolton Octagon

Private Lives, directed by Robin Herford for Oldham Coliseum

Secret Thoughts, directed by David Thacker for Bolton Octagon

A View From The Bridge, directed by Sarah Frankcom, for the Royal Exchange

Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?, directed by David Thacker for Bolton Octagon

BEST ACTRESS

Kate Coogan, Secret Thoughts, Bolton Octagon

Anna Francolini, A View From The Bridge, Royal Exchange

Cush Jumbo, As You Like It, Royal Exchange

Margot Leicester, Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?, Bolton Octagon

BEST ACTOR

Rob Edwards, Secret Thoughts, Bolton Octagon

George Irving, Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?, Bolton Octagon

Con O’Neill, A View From The Bridge, Royal Exchange

James Simmons, Private Lives, Oldham Coliseum

BEST VISITING PRODUCTION

Dancing At Lughnasa, The Original Theatre Company, Oldham Coliseum

Hamlet, National Theatre at The Lowry

King Lear, The Donmar, at The Lowry

One Man, Two Guvnors, National Theatre at The Lowry

BEST ACTRESS IN A VISITING PRODUCTION

Faye Brookes, Legally Blonde The Musical, Opera House

Sharon D Clarke, Ghost The Musical, Opera House

Olwen Fouere, Terminus, Abbey Theatre Dublin, at The Lowry

Catherine Walker, Terminus, Abbey Theatre Dublin, at The Lowry

BEST ACTOR IN A VISITING PRODUCTION

Declan Conlon, Terminus, Abbey Theatre Dublin, at The Lowry

James Corden, One Man, Two Guvnors, National Theatre at The Lowry

Derek Jacobi, King Lear, The Donmar at The Lowry

Rory Kinnear, Hamlet, National Theatre at The Lowry

Richard Fleeshman, Ghost, Opera House

BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Judith Barker, All The Way Home, Library Theatre at The Lowry

Tammy Joelle, Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?, Bolton Octagon

Suzan Sylvester, The Price, Bolton Octagon

Shannon Tarbet, Mogadishu, Royal Exchange

BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

David Crellin, Hard Times, Library Theatre at Murrays’ Mills

Kieran Hill, Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?, Bolton Octagon

Pearce Quigley, Zack, Royal Exchange

Kenneth Alan Taylor, The Price, Bolton Octagon

BEST STUDIO PERFORMANCE

Matthew Ganley, God Wept And The Devil Laughed, Lowry Studio

Rad Kaim, Ivan and the Dogs, Lowry Studio

Amy Nostbakken, The Big Smoke, Lowry Studio

Sarah McDonald Hughes, Once In A House On Fire, Lowry Studio

Rosie Wyatt, Bunny, Royal Exchange Studio 

BEST OF THE FRINGE

Lucia Cox, Blackbird, Salford Studio

JB Shorts season, Joshua Brooks Bar

Alex Moran, Hyde, Buxton Fringe Festival

Sherica, Balloon Head and Shred Productions, 24:7 Festival

True, Laal Marra Theatre Company, 24:7 Festival 

BEST SPECIAL ENTERTAINMENT

Dr Dee, Manchester International Festival, Palace

The Crash Of The Elysium, Manchester International Festival, Media City

The Life And Death Of Marina Abramovic, Manchester International Festival, The Lowry

Midnight Tango, The Lowry

Dick Whittington, Oldham Coliseum 

BEST NEW PLAY

Last Orders, by Sarah McDonald Hughes, Royal Exchange Studio and Library Replay season at Contact

Mogadishu, by Vivienne Franzmann, Royal Exchange

Once In A House On Fire, adapted for the stage by Sarah McDonald Hughes, from a memoir by Andrea Ashworth, The Lowry Studio

Secret Thoughts, by David Lodge, Bolton Octagon 

BEST MUSICAL

Avenue Q, The Lowry

Ghost The Musical, Opera House

Legally Blonde The Musical, Opera House

Spring Awakening, The Lowry 

OPERA

Albert Herring, Royal Northern College of Music

Gianni Schicchi, English Touring Opera, Buxton Opera House

Lucia di Lammermoor, Clonter Opera

The Portrait, Opera North, The Lowry

Utopia Ltd, Gilbert & Sullivan Festival, Buxton Opera House 

DANCE

Carlos Acosta, The Lowry

Cinderella, Birmingham Royal Ballet, The Lowry

Danish Dance Theatre, Triple Bill, The Lowry

Richard Alston Dance Company, Triple Bill, The Lowry 

DESIGN

Deathtrap, design Foxton; light Jane Barrek; sound Lorna Munden, Oldham Coliseum

The Demolition Man, design James Cotterill; light Brent Lees; sound Andy Smith; projection design Joe Stathers-Tracey, Bolton Octagon

Hard Times, design Judith Croft; light Nick Richings; sound Peter Rice, Library Theatre at Murrays’ Mills, Manchester

Secret Thoughts, design/light Ciaran Bagnall; sound Andy Smith; projection design Joe Stathers-Tracey, Bolton Octagon

Stepping Out, design Foxton; light Thomas Weir; sound Lorna Munden, Oldham Coliseum 

BEST NEWCOMER

Zora Bishop, As You Like It, Royal Exchange

Harry Livingstone, The Glass Menagerie, Oldham Coliseum

Emma Matthews, Stepping Out, Oldham Coliseum

William Postlethwaite, As You Like it, Royal Exchange

Matthew Tennyson, Beautiful Thing, Royal Exchange