Don Warrington up for Manchester Theatre Award for playing King Lear

Don Warrington played King Lear opposite Pepter Lunkuse's Cordelia

Don Warrington has been nominated for best actor at the Manchester Theatre Awards for playing King Lear.

The former Rising Damp star played Shakespeare's tragic king at the city's Royal Exchange Theatre last spring.

David Neilson, best known as Coronation Street's Roy Cropper, is shortlisted in the same category for Endgame at Home.

And Julie Hesmondhalgh, who played Nielson's TV wife Hayley in the soap, is nominated for best actress for her role in Wit at the Royal Exchange.

The full Manchester Theatre Awards nominations

Best actor

• Rob Edwards, To Kill A Mockingbird, Octagon Theatre, Bolton

• David Neilson, Endgame, Home, Manchester

• Daniel Rigby, Breaking The Code, Royal Exchange, Manchester

• Don Warrington, King Lear, Royal Exchange

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 Chenier, 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

The winners will be announced at the Home arts centre on 17 March.