Actors Christopher Ravenscroft and Christopher Villiers made it a double triumph for Bolton's Octagon.

Ravenscroft, who appeared in The Winslow Boy, at the theatre, won Best Actor while Villiers won best supporting actor for his role in the same play.

Both were the headline winners at the Manchester Theatre Awards which are the largest of their kind outside London.

The glittery ceremony was staged at the Opera House and the nominees were a mixture of the region's big theatres and Greater Manchester's smaller venues.

The awards are chosen by a panel of nine independent regional theatre critics.

You can see the nominees, with the winners underlined, below.

 

THE WINNERS

Best Actor
Ed Gaughan, in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, at the Royal Exchange
Justin Moorhouse, in Two, at the Royal Exchange
Christopher Ravenscroft, in The Winslow Boy, at Bolton Octagon
Clifford Samuel, in Obama the Mamba, President Of The Slums, at The Lowry
 

Best Actress
Lysette Anthony, in Lady Windermere’s Fan, at the Royal Exchange
Victoria Elliott, in Two, at the Royal Exchange
Lucy van Gasse, in Wonderful Town, at The Lowry
Maxine Peake, in Miss Julie, at the Royal Exchange
Imogen Stubbs, in Orpheus Descending, at the Royal Exchange
 

Best Supporting Actor
John Branwell, in Alfie, at Bolton Octagon and Oldham Coliseum
Russell Dixon, in Macbeth, at Bolton Octagon
Antony Eden, in Taking Steps, at Oldham Coliseum
Christopher Villiers, in The Winslow Boy, at Bolton Octagon
 

Best Supporting Actress
Clare Calbraith, in Saturday Night And Sunday Morning, at the Royal Exchange
Natalie Grady, in The Daughter-in-Law, for the Library Theatre at The Lowry
Carla Henry, in Miss Julie, at the Royal Exchange
Maggie Service, in The Country Wife, at the Royal Exchange
 

Best Actor in a Visiting Production
Robert Bathurst, in Blue/Orange, at the Opera House
Karl Davies, in Henry V and The Winter’s Tale, at The Lowry
Ray Fearon, in Julius Caesar, at The Lowry
John Owen-Jones, in The Phantom of the Opera, at the Palace
 

Best Actress in a Visiting Production
Josefina Gabrielle, in The King and I, at the Lowry
Sian Phillips, in Cabaret, at The Lowry
Elaine C Smith, in I Dreamed a Dream, at the Palace
 

Best Production
Arabian Nights, for the Library Theatre
Orpheus Descending, for Royal Exchange
The Winslow Boy, for Bolton Octagon
Wonderful Town, for Royal Exchange/The Halle/The Lowry
 

Best New Play
The Gatekeeper, by Chloe Moss, at the Royal Exchange Studio
Obama the Mamba, President Of The Slums, by Kevin Fegan, at The Lowry
Snookered, by Ishy Din, at Oldham Coliseum
Towers Of Babel, by Nick Yardley, at 24:7 Theatre Festival
 

Best Opera
Don Giovanni, from Opera North, at The Lowry
Giulio Cesare, from Opera North, at The Lowry
Hansel and Gretel, from Clonter Opera
The Maiden in the Tower/ Kashchei The Immortal, at Buxton Festival
Xerxes, from Royal Northern College of Music
 

Best Dance
Danza Contemporanea de Cuba, at The Lowry
Hofesh Shechter - Political Mother, at The Lowry
Lyric Pieces, Birmingham Royal Ballet, at Buxton Opera House
Matthew Bourne’s Sleeping Beauty, A New Adventures Production, at The Lowry
Some Like It Hip Hop, Zoo Nation, at The Lowry
 

Best Visiting Production
Blue/Orange, A Theatre Royal Brighton production, at the Opera House
DNA, from Hull Truck, at the Royal Exchange Studio
Julius Caesar, from the Royal Shakespeare Company, at The Lowry
Love’s Labour’s Lost, from Northern Broadsides/New Vic Theatre, at Buxton Opera House
Our Country’s Good, from Out Of Joint/Bolton Octagon, at Bolton Octagon
 

Best Musical
9 – 5, at the Opera House
American Idiot, at the Palace
Carousel, at The Lowry
The Lion King, at the Palace
The Phantom of the Opera, at the Palace
 

Best Special Entertainment
Cinderella, at Oldham Coliseum
The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy Radio Show Live!, at the Opera House
Star Cross’d, for Oldham Coliseum
Translunar Paradise, at The Lowry
 

Best Design
Arabian Nights, for the Library Theatre
Hansel and Gretel, at Clonter Opera
The Hound of the Baskervilles, for Oldham Coliseum
Manchester Lines, for the Library Theatre
Wonderful Town, at The Lowry
 

Best Studio Production
Black Roses, at the Royal Exchange Studio
Days Of Light, from Starving Artists, at the Royal Exchange Studio
London, Paines Plough/Live Theatre and Salisbury Playhouse, at the Royal Exchange Studio
Snookered, Tamasha/Oldham Coliseum/Bush Theatre, at the University Campus Oldham
 

Best Performance in a Studio Production
Rachel Austin, in Black Roses, at the Royal Exchange Studio
Fred Broom, in No Sleep For The Haunted, at the Lowry Studio
Julie Hesmondhalgh, in Black Roses, at the Royal Exchange Studio
Reuben Johnson, in Wrecked, at the Lowry Studio
Tricia Kelly, in The Gatekeeper, at the Royal Exchange Studio
 

Best Ensemble
All the Bens, at 24:7 Theatre Festival
Arabian Nights, for the Library Theatre at The Lowry
Snookered, at Oldham Coliseum
Star Cross’d, at Oldham Coliseum
 

Best Newcomer
Tamla Kari, in Saturday Night And Sunday Morning, at the Royal Exchange
Anna Wheatley, in Peter Pan, at Bolton Octagon
 

Best Fringe
All the Bens, at 24:7 Theatre Festival
The Cell, at 24:7 Theatre Festival
The Bubbler, at Studio Salford
JB Shorts, at Joshua Brooks