The 2016 Manchester Theatre Awards nominations

Best Actress
Niamh Cusack, Ghosts, HOME
Kaisa Hammarlund, Sweet Charity, Royal Exchange
Julie Hesmondhalgh, Wit, Royal Exchange 
Kathryn Hunter, The Emperor, HOME

Best Production
Breaking The Code, Royal Exchange 
Ghosts, HOME
The Emperor, HOME
Wit, Royal Exchange

Best Supporting Actor
Daniel Crossley, Sweet Charity, Royal Exchange 
Raad Rawi, Breaking The Code, Royal Exchange
Marc Small, To Kill A Mockingbird, Octagon Theatre
Miltos Yerolemou, King Lear, Royal Exchange

Best Supporting Actress
Natalie Dew, Breaking The Code, Royal Exchange 
Sharon Duncan-Brewster, A Streetcar Named Desire, Royal Exchange
Natalie Grady, Martha Josie and the Chinese Elvis, Octagon Theatre
Amy Nuttall, The Winter’s Tale, Octagon Theatre

Best Visiting Production
946 – The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tipps, HOME
A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing, Lowry, Salford
Love’s Labour’s Lost / Much Ado About Nothing, Opera House
The Encounter, HOME
The James Plays, Lowry 

Best Actor in a Visiting Production
Edward Bennett, Love’s Labour’s Lost / Much Ado About Nothing, Opera House
Rufus Hound, The Wind in the Willows, The Lowry 
Simon McBurney, The Encounter, HOME
Michael Pennington, King Lear, Opera House

Best Actress in a Visiting Production
Lisa Dillon, Love’s Labour’s Lost / Much Ado About Nothing, Opera House
Aoife Duffin, A Girl Is A Half-Formed Thing, Lowry 
Lisa Maxwell, End Of The Rainbow, Opera House
Zizi Strallen, Mary Poppins, Palace

Best Newcomer
Daisy Badger, Look Back In Anger, Octagon Theatre
Ben Hunter, The Girls, Lowry
Norah Lopez Holden, Ghosts, HOME 
Kirsty Rider, Pride And Prejudice, Lowry
Holly Willock, The Wind In The Willows, Lowry
Young “Michael” cast, Billy Elliot, Palace 
Young “Scout” cast, To Kill A Mockingbird, Octagon Theatre 

Best Opera
Andrea Chénier, Opera North, Lowry 
Billy Budd, Opera North, Lowry
Don Giovanni, ETO, Buxton Opera House
Tamerlano, Buxton Festival, Buxton Opera House

The Robert Robson Award for Best Dance
Akram Khan’s Giselle, Palace 
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Lowry
Nederlands Dans Theater 2, Lowry
The Red Shoes, Lowry

Best Musical
Billy Elliot, Palace
Parade, Hope Mill Theatre
Singin’ in the Rain, Octagon Theatre
Sweet Charity, Royal Exchange 
The Wind in the Willows, Lowry

Best Fringe Production
Boomtown Gals, Various venues
Die Diana, Bandit, Mugger and Thief, Manchester
Multi Story, Monkeywood, Various venues
The Trial, Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester 

Best Fringe Performance
Joyce Branagh, Boomtown Gals, Various venues 
Sam Grogan, Waiting Room, King’s Arms, Salford
William J Holstead, The Trial, Hope Mill Theatre
Leanne Martin, The Brink, King’s Arms

Best Studio Production
Dirty Pakistani Lingerie, Lowry
Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons, HOME
The Solid Life Of Sugar Water, Royal Exchange
Wish List, Royal Exchange 

Best Actor in a Studio Production
Alexander Gatehouse, Ventoux, Lowry
Joseph Quinn, Wish List, Royal Exchange Studio 
Rex Ryan, Pilgrim, Lowry

Best Actress in a Studio Production
Erin Doherty, Wish List, Royal Exchange Studio 
Sarah Emmott, Declaration, Lowry
Georgia Henshaw, Bird, Royal Exchange Studio
Molly Vevers, Ross and Rachel, Lowry

Best New Play
A Pacifist’s Guide to the War on Cancer, HOME
Bird, Royal Exchange Studio
The Emperor, HOME 
Wish List, Royal Exchange Studio

Best Design
Endgame, HOME
La Vie Parisienne, Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester
Singin’ In The Rain, Octagon Theatre 
The Pitmen Painters, Coliseum, Oldham

Best Ensemble
946 – The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tipps, HOME
Singin’ In The Rain, Octagon Theatre 
The Pitmen Painters, Coliseum
The James Plays, Lowry

Best Special Entertainment
An Anatomie In Four Quarters, Lowry
Cirque du Soleil – Amaluna, Trafford Centre
Summer, Autumn, Winter, Spring, Old Granada Studios
The Peony Pavillion, Lowry 

Youth Panel Award
NOTHING – The Royal Exchange Theatre Young Company 
The Secret Garden – Octagon Youth Theatre
The Factory – The Royal Exchange Theatre Young Company
The Siege of Christmas – Contact Youth Company with Swung Low