Photographers capture beauty of Sutton Park for Shakespeare competition
Talented photographers from Sutton have been praised after being recognised in a competition held as part of the town’s Shakespeare in Sutton Festival.
Festival planners FOLIO received 230 entries for its photography competition, This Green Plot Shall Be Our Stage.
The photographic celebration of Sutton Park was inspired by the claim that Shakespeare was thinking of Gum Slade when imagining the magical forest in A Midsummer Night’’s Dream.
In the adult category, Keith Wright won with images taken from Streetly Wood and Holly Hurst.
In the young person’s category Chloe Simmons won for her striking photo of a much loved landmarked in Sutton Park, the Witching Tree.
Denise Taylor, George Hughes, Steve West and Lou Jackson were named as runners up. in a tight competition, with many exceptional images.
The two winners will receive a large art print of their winning entries, and all winners and runners up will receive an exclusive postcard pack featuring all six photos.
The competition was judged by photographers Jaskirt Boora and Najm Clayton, and Sutton Park Ranger Matthew Osland Barker.
The judges said: “It was a wonderful privilege to asked to pour over in judgement the many wonderful artistic moments captured by photographers within both categories.
"It was not easy choosing the winners and runners up as all of the images presented to us had captured something special within the wonderful landscape that sits at the heart of the town. A huge thank you to all who took part and congratulations to the winners!”
Sutton Coldfield Library will be displaying an original first collected words of Shakespeare, better known as the First Folio, on the Bard’s birthday, this weekend.
The 399-year-old valuable rarity is so special and fragile it can only be exposed to light for three hours in one go.
Between 2-5pm this Saturday – Shakespeare’s birthday – the works will be on display and all are welcome to view it.
The Folio will be open on the page where Sutton Coldfield itself is mentioned by Falstaff, in Henry IV part 1.
To guarantee seeing the Folio, booking is essential, via eventbrite.co.uk/e/feast-your-eyes-on-the-first-folio-tickets-276629856347
The Folio will be on display in Sutton thanks to a collaboration between FOLIO Sutton Coldfield and the Everything to Everybody project. – an ambitious celebration of one of the UK’s most important cultural assets.
Also on Saturday, there will also be free displays and performances of dance and music from the time of Shakespeare, from Gloriana and Passamezzo, puppetry and storytelling from Kit’s Creature Lab. And there will be amazing street performances of Shakespeare Undone by the Natural Theatre Company.
Everything is free, though booking is also essential for Shakespeare Undone. See shakespeareinsutton.org.uk
