Sheridan Smith, Janet Suzman and Danny Mac among winners at 2018 Manchester Theatre Awards

The winners of the Manchester Theatre Awards have been announced at a ceremony held at The Lowry.

Presented by Justin Moorhouse, the awards celebrate theatre in Greater Manchester seen during 2017.

The award-winning Curve production of Sunset Boulevard won two awards, Best Musical and Best Actor in a Visiting Production for Danny Mac. Sheridan Smith won Best Actress in a Visiting Production for her turn as Fanny Brice in the touring production of Funny Girl.

Of the Manchester venues, HOME led the winners with five awards, including Best Actress in a Leading Role for Janet Suzman (Rose), Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Katie West (Uncle Vanya), Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Andrew Sheridan (People, Places & Things) and Best Design for Jenny Melville and Lysander Ashton for Paul Auster’s City of Glass.

The other awards on the day were spread across different Manchester venues. Oldham Coliseum won two awards for its production of The Father, bagging Best Production and Best Actor in a Leading Role for Kenneth Alan Taylor. The Royal Exchange also won two awards, picking up the Award for Best Ensemble for The Suppliant Women and Best Performance in a Studio Production for Rhodri Meilir in How My Light is Spent.

The Best Newcomer award was given to Scott Hunter for his performance in Yank! at the Hope Mill Theatre, with the musical opening in Manchester before coming to London later the same year. The Hope Mill Theatre also won Best Fringe Production for Moth. Best New Play was won by Rosie Fleeshman for Narcissist in the Mirror, part of Greater Manchester Fringe.

Two special achievement awards were given out, with Barrie Rutter, founder and former artistic director of Northern Broadsides, and Anne Hornsby of Mind’s Eye audio describers commended for their contributions to theatre.

See the full list of winners and nominees here

Actress in a Leading Role
• Karen Henthorn, Spring and Port Wine, Oldham Coliseum
• Lisa Dwyer Hogg, People, Places & Things, HOME
• Nina Hoss, Returning to Reims, Manchester International Festival
• Janet Suzman, Rose, HOME

Actor in a Leading Role
• Cliff Burnett, Hard Times, Oldham Coliseum
• Jason Merrells, Uncle Vanya, HOME
• Kenneth Alan Taylor, The Father, Oldham Coliseum
• Ashley Zhangazha, Guys And Dolls, Royal Exchange

Actress in a Supporting Role
• Alison Halstead, The House of Bernarda Alba, Royal Exchange
• Kate Kennedy, Twelfth Night, Royal Exchange
• Kerry Peers, The Father, Oldham Coliseum
• Katie West, Uncle Vanya, HOME

Actor in a Supporting Role
• Tom Michael Blyth, Hard Times, Oldham Coliseum
• David Fleeshman, Uncle Vanya, HOME
• Andrew Sheridan, People, Places & Things, HOME

Actress in a Visiting Production
• Ria Jones, Sunset Boulevard, Palace Theatre
• Laura Pitt-Pulford, Nell Gwynn, The Lowry
• Natalie Radmall-Quirke, The Weir, Oldham Coliseum
• Sheridan Smith, Funny Girl, Palace Theatre

Actor in a Visiting Production
• Danny Mac, Sunset Boulevard, Palace Theatre
• Graham McDuff, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Palace Theatre
• Sean Murray, The Weir, Oldham Coliseum

Ensemble
• Oh! What A Lovely War, Oldham Coliseum
• Operation Black Antler, HOME
• The Suppliant Women, Royal Exchange

Performance in a Fringe Production
• Rosie Fleeshman, Narcissist in the Mirror, Greater Manchester Fringe
• Amie Giselle-Ward, Little Women – The Musical, Hope Mill Theatre
• Alexandra Maxwell, The Loves of Others / Freak, Greater Manchester Fringe
• Danny Solomon, Days Of Wine And Roses, 53TWO

Performance in a Studio Production
• Rhodri Meilir, How My Light Is Spent, Royal Exchange
• Lucy Jane Parkinson, Joan, Contact
• Keisha Thompson, Man On The Moon, Contact
• Alex Walton, From Ibiza to the Norfolk Broads, The Lowry

Robert Robson Award for Dance
• Debut, Acosta Danza, The Lowry
• English National Ballet double bill, Palace Theatre
• Ghost Dances, Rambert Dance, The Lowry
• Leviathan, James Wilton Dance, Contact

Design
• Jenny Melville (set) and Lysander Ashton (video), Paul Auster’s City of Glass, HOME
• Bunny Christie, People, Places & Things, HOME
• Alex Lowde, Persuasion, Royal Exchange
• Yael Bartana, What If Women Ruled the World?, Manchester International Festival

Fringe Production
• Bad Advice, Greater Manchester Fringe
• Gypsy Queen, Hope Mill Theatre
• The Marriage of Kim K, Greater Manchester Fringe
• Moth, Hope Mill Theatre

Musical
• Funny Girl, Palace Theatre
• Jim Steinman’s Bat out of Hell the Musical, Opera House
• Sunset Boulevard, Palace Theatre
• Yank!, Hope Mill Theatre

New Play
• Gypsy Queen, writer Rob Ward, Hope Mill Theatre
• How My Light Is Spent, writer Alan Harris, Royal Exchange
• Narcissist in the Mirror, writer Rosie Fleeshman, Greater Manchester Fringe
• Narvik, writer Lizzie Nunnery, HOME

Newcomer
• Gemma Dobson, Rita, Sue and Bob Too, Octagon Theatre Bolton
• Scott Hunter, Yank!, Hope Mill Theatre
• Vinay Lad, The Railway Children, The Lowry

The Philip Radcliffe Award for Opera
• Cendrillon, Royal Northern College of Music, RNCM
• La Cenerentola, Opera North, The Lowry
• Opera North Little Greats, Opera North, The Lowry
• The Snow Maiden, Opera North, The Lowry

Production
• The Father, Oldham Coliseum
• People, Places & Things, HOME
• Rose, HOME
• The Suppliant Women, Royal Exchange

Special Entertainment
• Dick Whittington, Opera House
• Running Wild, The Lowry
• The Toad Knew, The Lowry
• Under Glass, Clod Ensemble, The Lowry

Studio Production
• From Ibiza to the Norfolk Broads, The Lowry
• Joan, Contact
• Man On The Moon, Contact
• Swansong, The Lowry

Target Live Award for Best Visiting Production
• La Strada, The Lowry
• My Country; a Work in Progress, HOME
• Nell Gwynn, The Lowry
• The Weir, Oldham Coliseum

Youth Panel Award
• There is a Light/BRIGHTLIGHT, Contact Young Company
• Singin' in the Rain, RNCM Young Company
• Tis Written in the Stars, Oldham Theatre Workshop, Oldham Coliseum