Will power proving strong in Stratford
To dress up, or not to dress up? That is what ‘‘Stratford-upon-Pātea’’ locals will be asking themselves this weekend.
Shakespeare is taking over Stratford tomorrow, with a small festival at the monthly Prospero Place Market on Broadway.
People are asked to come with a sonnet that matches their house number, enjoy a new gin named after Shakespeare’s poem Venus and Adonis, and try some treats.
There will be Shakespeare themed performances, prizes for best dressed attendee, and many other aspects to the event, which will run from 9am-12pm.
‘‘It’s just fun for people,’’ Jo Stallard, one of the organisers said, while dressed in Elizabethan garb.
The town has always been known for its links to The Bard, not only because it shares the name of his birthplace, but because all of its streets are named after aspects of his plays – and have been for more than 140 years.
Now the recently formed Stratford Shakespeare Trust is to make a celebration of these links.
Stallard, the trust secretary, said their bigger plan is to start an annual month-long festival during William Shakespeare’s birth and death month of April, and this event is just a taster.
Trustee Sue Blackwell said they want the festival, supported by Stratford district councillor Gloria Webby, to bring people from all over.
Their outfits were made by Blackwell out of cushion covers, table cloths, and golf jackets, and will be on show this weekend.