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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
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