Manchester theatre stars nominated for awards

Maxine Peake and Suranne Jones are both up for best actress

Actresses Maxine Peake and Suranne Jones will go head-to-head at this year's Manchester Theatre Awards, after both being nominated for gender-swapping performances.

Peake played a female Hamlet at the Royal Exchange, while Jones starred in the same theatre's adaptation of Virginia Woolf's novel Orlando.

Other stars on the list include Robert Lindsay, for his role in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels at Manchester's Opera House.

The winners are announced on 13 March.

A panel of 11 of the region's leading theatre critics has selected the nominees, which include several productions at Bolton's Octagon Theatre and The Lowry in Salford.

Here are the main nominees:

Best Actor

• Rob Edwards - Duet for One and Separation, at the Octagon Theatre, Bolton

• Michael Hugo - Around the World in 80 Days, at the Royal Exchange

• Harry McEntire - Billy Liar, at the Royal Exchange

• Dan Parr - Britannia Waves the Rules, at the Royal Exchange

• Michael Shelford - Early One Morning, at the Octagon Theatre, Bolton

Best Actress

• Clare Foster - Duet for One and Separation, at the Octagon Theatre, Bolton

• Natalie Grady - Hobson's Choice, at the Octagon Theatre, Bolton

• Suranne Jones - Orlando, at the Royal Exchange

• Maxine Peake - Hamlet, at the Royal Exchange

• Lauren Samuels - Love Story, at the Octagon Theatre, Bolton

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

• David Birrell - Journey's End, at the Octagon Theatre, Bolton

• Colin Connor - Early One Morning, at the Octagon Theatre, Bolton

• Daragh O'Malley - Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, at the Royal Exchange

• Michael Shelford - Hobson's Choice, at the Octagon Theatre, Bolton

• Nuno Silva - Little Shop of Horrors, at the Royal Exchange

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

• Claire Benedict - Hamlet, at the Royal Exchange

• Gillian Bevan - Hamlet, at the Royal Exchange

• Molly Gromadzki - Orlando, at the Royal Exchange

• Katie Moore - Billy Liar, at the Royal Exchange

Best Actor in a Visiting Production

• Joshua Jenkins - The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, at The Lowry

• Robert Lindsay - Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, at the Opera House

• Cassidy Little - The Two Worlds of Charlie F, at the Opera House

• Steven Miller - Shakespeare's Othello, at The Lowry

• Antony Sher - Henry IV Parts I and II, at The Lowry

• Al Weaver - The Pride, at the Opera House

Best Actress in a Visiting Production

• Jane Asher - Moon Tiger, at The Lowry

• Emily Butterfield - An August Bank Holiday Lark, at Oldham Coliseum

• Lisa Dwan - Not I, Footfalls and Rockaby, at The Lowry

• Katherine Kingsley - Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, at the Opera House

• Emma Williams - Annie Get Your Gun, at the Opera House

Best Production

• Angel Meadow, at Edinburgh Castle, Ancoats

• Around the World in 80 Days, at the Royal Exchange

• Close the Coalhouse Door, at Oldham Coliseum

• Journey's End, at the Octagon Theatre, Bolton

• Romeo and Juliet, at Victoria Baths

• Separation, at the Octagon Theatre, Bolton

Best Musical

• 20th Century Boy, at the Opera House

• Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, at the Opera House

• Jersey Boys, at the Palace Theatre

• Little Shop of Horrors, at the Royal Exchange

• Love Story, at the Octagon Theatre, Bolton