THE stage is set for what could be a glittering night of accolades for Oldham Coliseum after they received a staggering 10 nominations in the prestigious Manchester Theatre Awards.

The include the best actress and actor categories with Karen Henthorn, for "Spring and Port Wine", Kenneth Alan Taylor, for "The Father"and Cliff Burnett for "Hard Times".

The Father is also up for a Production award.

Oldham Theatre Workshop has been nominated for "Tis Written in the Stars" which was performed at the Coliseum.

The Coliseum is topping the bill alongside the likes of The Lowry, which has 15 nominations, Home with 13 nominations, the Palace Theatre and the Opera House.

Famous names in the running for awards this year include Sheridan Smith, who is nominated for Best Visiting Actress for her role as Fanny Brice in "Funny Girl", Danny Mac, nominated for "Best Visiting Actor" for his performance as Joe McGill in "Sunset Boulevard" while Jason Merrells is up for Best Actor for his role in HOME’s "Uncle Vanya".

The last time the Coliseum received this many MTAs nods - credited with being the most important theatrical prize-giving outside London - was back in 2014 when Chicago won Best Ensemble and Best Supporting Actress.

Kevin Shaw, chief executive and artistic director of the Coliseum said: "The Manchester Theatre Awards are a celebration of the brilliant theatre offering across Manchester and Greater Manchester and we’re thrilled to have received 10 nominations.

"The fact that our nominations cover four Coliseum produced shows from the past year - not to mention Oldham Theatre Workshop’s nomination for ‘Tis Written in the Stars which was performed at the Coliseum - highlights the excellent quality of work produced right here in Oldham. Congratulations to all the nominees.”

In The Father - which had its north west premiere at the Coliseum - Kenneth starred as André, an 80 year old man living with dementia.

Taking the audience on a journey through André’s perspective, The Father is a powerful and moving black comedy about the devastating impact of dementia on one man and the people in his life.

Kenneth has performed in over 320 Oldham Coliseum productions since his first appearance at the then Oldham Repertory Theatre in 1959.

He became artistic director from 1978 to 1982, reopening the theatre after a nine month closure and re-constituting the Oldham Repertory Theatre as Oldham Coliseum Theatre.

He returned as chief executive of the theatre from 1996 to 2002 and was presented with the Horniman Award for Outstanding Achievement in Theatre in 1997.

Narcissist in Mirror - which premiered outside Manchester at Millgate Arts Centre, in Delph - is up for two awards with writer and actress Rosie Fleeshman nominated for Performance in a Fringe and New Play categories.

The red carpet ceremony takes place at The Lowry's Quays Theatre on March 9 and will be hosted by actor and comedian Justin Moorhouse.

The MTAs has been a major fixture of the regions cultural calendar since 1981 and honours productions seen in Greater Manchester during 2017.

With the backing of the Greater Manchester theatres, a judging panel of some of the most experienced critics in the country, who attend hundreds of performances a year, celebrate the significant impact of theatre in Greater Manchester.

In recent years the awards have expanded to include a group of enthusiastic young critics who also choose an annual award from the city’s youth theatre productions.

Following a relaunch in 2011, famous faces from stage and screen to have won include Sir Kenneth Branagh, Maxine Peake, Rufus Hound, Rory Kinnear, Barry Humphries, Julian Glover and Sian Phillips.

Coronation Street and Broadchurch actress Julie Hesmondhalgh, herself a previous multiple MTA winner, paid tribute to the awards and the importance of the Greater Manchester theatre scene, saying: “I love the Manchester Theatre Awards. It’s always such a lovely coming together of our artistic community in the best city in the world, and is a celebration of all things theatrical here: From the emerging raw talent of the burgeoning fringe scene to the bobby dazzler spectaculars in our main houses and from the internationally acclaimed cultural highlights of MIF to a couple of people in a tiny space above a Salford pub.”

All nominees are invited to the awards, and members of the public can also buy tickets for the event.

Tickets, priced £15, are available from www.thelowry.com/information/booking.

COLISEUM AWARDS

Actress in a Supporting Role - Kerry Peers, The Father

Actor in a Supporting Role - Tom Michael Blyth, Hard Times

Actress in a Visiting Production - Natalie Radmall-Quirke, The Weir

Actor in a Visiting Production - Sean Murray, The Weir

Ensemble - Oh What A Lovely War

Target Live Award for Best Visiting Production - The Weir