Image copyright Jonathan Keenan Image caption 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.

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