Another year, another Manchester Theatre Awards.
Once again, I was at HOME with my fellow Youth Award panellists to walk the red carpet, have wine/canapes next to a giant mirrored horse (yes, really) and of course watch the awards ceremony.
This year, the awards were dominated by the Royal Exchange (much as the Octagon did last year) with both main stage and studio productions given several glass trophies each. Sadly, I once again felt like I’d missed out on some major works, but I was very pleased to see Akram Khan’s Giselle take home the Robert Robson Award for Best Dance and Peony Pavilion win the Special Entertainment category. Both were deserving winners.
The higlight was of course seeing a Youth Panel Award given for the third time! Our chosen winner was NOTHING, which I reviewed way back in April. It was such a fantastic production and I’m delighted that it’s being revived this season. It was brilliant to see the award so enthusiastically received by some of the Royal Exchange Young Company, and to hear the panel praised in the introduction.
You can see the full list of winners here.