A BOLTON theatre group is celebrating after receiving a record 10 nominations for this year’s NODA North West awards.

Walmsley Church AODS have scooped the nominations for their production of White Christmas at the prestigious National Operatic and Dramatic Association awards, the first time that any group has been nominated for 10 awards.

This is the first time that any group has ever picked up so many for one production.

Walmsley officials including including director Nora Howcroft, musical director Mike Pinder and choreographer Lara Crombie-Syddall have all been nominated in different categories.

Members of the society will attend the grand finals which reward the best local amateur theatre companies in the North West, at the Mercure Hotel in Manchester on May 1.

Nora Howcroft said: “It’s amazing. We have received the most nominations any theatre group has ever had in one go.

We had some fantastic feedback about the show with many saying it was as good, if not better, than some professional productions of White Christmas they had seen. But we never believed that we would get all these nominations. We’re gobsmacked.”

The nominations are for best musical, best staging, sound and lighting, best artistic direction of a musical (Nora Howcroft), best musical direction (Mike Pinder), best choreography (Lara Crombie-Syddall), best leading male actor in a musical (Steve Benson), best leading female actor in a musical (Adrienne Wormald), best supporting male actor in a musical (Tristan Nixon), best supporting female actor in a musical (Vicki Wilson) and best female youth performer in an adult production (Lizzie Glover).

Nora said: “We are really looking forward to going to the awards night. I am one of the first to say that there is so much talent in Bolton.

“More than 100 years ago Bolton Operatic Society was one of the founding societies in NODA, so it is great to be recognised at such a prestigious ceremony.”