MANCHESTER Opera House played host to the Manchester Theatre Awards 2012 – the largest theatrical prize-giving outside London, recognising the work of several leading local names as well as some of the biggest performers in British and international theatre.
Among the winners were many stage actors who also enjoy television fame, such as Maxine Peake, Christopher Ravenscroft, Julie Hesmondhalgh, Ray Fearon and Sian Phillips. But there were also many more players from the city's rich theatre tradition and its equally vibrant fringe and studio scene
Maxine Peake
Shows jostling for trophies included The Lion King, Wonderful Town, the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Julius Caesar, Phantom Of The Opera and Carousel.
Altogether there were around 80 nominations in 19 categories, honouring achievements in live theatre at venues including The Lowry, The Manchester Palace and Opera House, The Royal Exchange, Library Theatre, Bolton Octagon, Oldham Coliseum and Buxton Opera House, as well as several fringe theatres and pub venues.
The Lion King
The MTAs are chosen by a panel of nine independent regional theatre critics and confirm Manchester as the heart of the country’s second home of theatreland.
The full winners list was as follows:
Best Production
Wonderful Town, for Royal Exchange/The Halle/Lowry, at the Lowry
Best Visiting Production
Julius Caesar, Royal Shakespeare Company, The Lowry
Best Studio Production
Black Roses, Royal Exchange Studio
Best Musical
The Lion King, Palace
Best New Play
Snookered, by Ishy Din, Oldham Coliseum
Best Fringe
All the Bens, 24:7 Theatre Festival
Opera
Don Giovanni, Opera North, The Lowry
Dance
Matthew Bourne’s Sleeping Beauty, New Adventures Production, The Lowry
Best Special Entertainment
Star Cross’d, for Oldham Coliseum
Best Actor
Christopher Ravenscroft, in The Winslow Boy, at the Octagon Theatre, Bolton
Best Actress
Maxine Peake, in Miss Julie, at the Royal Exchange
Best Supporting Actor
Christopher Villiers, in The Winslow Boy at the Octagon Theatre, Bolton
Best Supporting Actress
Natalie Grady, in The Daughter-in-Law, for the Library Theatre at the Lowry
Best Actor in a Visiting Production
Ray Fearon, in Julius Caesar, at The Lowry
Best Actress in a Visiting Production
Sian Phillips, in Cabaret, at The Lowry
Best Performance in a Studio Production
Julie Hesmondhalgh, Black Roses, Royal Exchange Studio
Best Ensemble
Arabian Nights, Library Theatre
Best Newcomer
Tamla Kari, Saturday Night And Sunday Morning, Royal Exchange
Best Design
Wonderful Town, The Lowry
Special Award
Porl Cooper, formerly of the Lowry Studio
