This morning, the eagerly-anticipated nominations for the Manchester Theatre Awards were announced.
The MTAs were set up over the summer by a panel of experienced north west theatre critics following the Manchester Evening News's decision to drop the thirty-year-old MEN Theatre Awards due to the economic downturn.
The new panel members all served as MEN panelists and so had already put half a year's work into the selection process for the 2011 awards.
The nominations are:
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 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 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 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 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 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 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
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, Studio Salford
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
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 Musical
Avenue Q, The Lowry
Ghost The Musical, Opera House
Legally Blonde The Musical, Opera House
Spring Awakening, The Lowry
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 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 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 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
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
For more information about the awards, see manchestertheatreawards.com.