A Message from the Chairman of the King Lear Prize Committee
“What a pleasure it has been to see all the entries for the Chairman’s Prize of the King Lear Prizes. As you will remember, we set up the Chairman’s Prize in addition to the original prizes to make sure as many people as possible could take part. That means that if you entered this category, you will be a youngster (60-69 year olds), a professional, or so creative that your work didn’t quite fit the rules for other categories!
We had almost 3,000 entries for the Chairman’s Prize, and from that we have picked 22 shortlisted entries, and a number of highly commended entries.
I am delighted to say that we have been able to raise a relatively small amount of extra prize money for the Chairman’s Prize. Therefore in addition to the overall winner (£1,000 prize), we will also be awarding three runners-up prizes (£100 each). In such a strong field, it’s still not going to be an easy decision!
Thank you again all for taking part, and keep up the creativity!”
Andrew Browning
Chairman, King Lear Prize Committee
Shortlisted Entries
Chairman’s Prize
You can view these works below, and see the Highly Commended entries at the bottom of the page.
Art
Drama
Train of Thought
By Malcolm McKee
The Next Ivan Sheransky
By Jim Geogham
“I knew an actor who was quiet, slow moving and glum. One day he looked especially sad. He auditioned for the role of a dead body and did not get it. I said "It's probably because you're so full of life." And he replied "That's what I think." I knew I had a short play.”
Teresa’s Green
By Geraldine Aron
Music
Villancico for Guitar and Chamber Orchestra
By Frederick Naftel
“For this work, I imagined the Renaissance court of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain, where a wedding or other celebration was taking place. The music is inspired by Renaissance dance and early Spanish nationalism and is intended to be graceful and lyrical in equal measure. The guitar solo replicates the sound of the Spanish "vihuela", a 15th century fretted plucked instrument.”
Lockdown Blues
By Antoni Grimaud
Alkanet Everywhere
By Howard Thomas
“During these 6 months of solitary, I exercised by taking a daily walk on the many different paths around the village.
On returning from one of these excursions I made an instrumental recording of my impressions recalling, among other things, bird and insect songs, wind in young and ancient trees, and the distant sounds of agricultural machinery, livestock and light aircraft.
And everywhere, everywhere, in gardens, hedgerows, field margins and roadside verges, there was an unforgettable profusion of green alkanet.”
Poetry
Grace
By Peter Lindley
The Same Inside
By Eleanor Andrews
“Years ago, when I was at school in Godalming, Surrey, I won a local poetry competition in the Surrey Advertiser. My very good friend, Ann Eatwell, saw the King Lear competition, and on the basis of my previous success, persuaded me to enter.
One thing that happens as you grow older is that the exterior of your body changes, but you feel the same inside. This poem is about how the feelings of fear, inadequacy and loneliness from my youth are still there, despite the experience which comes with old age. My poetic inspiration has always been Gerard Manley Hopkins.”
Stand Up and Be a Man
By Rachel Warner
“I am a member of my local Women's Institute and every month we have a competition with a theme. The particular theme was WW2 so I decided to write a poem. Someone at the meeting mentioned that they thought all young men should do time in the forces as they did in the war but I thought about the young men who would not flourish in this environment. So I wrote my poem about a Father who also thought that young men should fight for their country, regardless of what the consequences would be and how the young men felt.”
Locked Out
By Jo Sanders
Hangman
By Kevin Short
“The inspiration behind ‘Hangman’ was born by thoughts of greater powers deciding our personal and united fate. Destiny may be a divine dream, guiding us to other paths from which to choose, but the hand of fate will decide when our visit is done.”
Short Story
Sink or Swim: The Knitted Swimming Costume
By Dorothy Jenkins
God’s Will
By Marie Maher
“I have always loved all things mystery and murder, and although I normally write more light-hearted whodunits, was inspired to write this when a new neighbour moved into my street. It got me thinking: are people who they say they are? Do we have to take people at face value? I thought, I would expound on this in my work, and it has been a new and enjoyable experience for me to write this darker version. I hope everyone who reads it enjoys it too.”
One Woman’s Life of Crime
By Alison Rooks
“The idea for this story has been buzzing in my head for some time, since I noticed that, as a somewhat invisible ‘older woman’ I reckoned I could literally get away with murder. This competition inspired me to actually sit down and write it.”
No Particular Place to Go
By Bonnie Meekums
“I write a blog, documenting my own journey as an ageing woman in the UK. Older adults are just that - adults, with minds of their own, and rich stories of lives fully lived. My mum died in 2011, aged 96. She was a lot like Stella. Despite disability, frailty and constant pain, she never stopped being interested in the world around her, or the people in it. She was still a thinker, prepared to learn and change her opinion about things, and fiercely independent, wherever she could be.”
Letters from the Marigold Cafe
By Jonathan Campbell
“When I was a child in the late 1950s, my mother was suddenly taken away from our home. My grandmother looked after myself and my brothers while she was in a remote mental hospital. We were not allowed to visit her but wrote letters every week and she wrote back from a little village cafe.
It has taken me over 60 years to feel able to write down my memories of that time and to imagine how she faced the isolation and separation from loved ones that unfortunately is now affecting so many families.That also has been my inspiration. “
Highly Commended Entries
Chairman’s Prize
In addition to our shortlisted entrants, our judging team was particularly impressed with the following Highly Commended works, chosen from around 3,000 works in the Chairman’s Prize category.
ART
Station by Feroze Antia
A Cloudy Day by Linda Bartlett
Lockdown by Meg Bateman
Final Resting Place by Paul Beasley
Memories of Venice by Christine Boxall
Venice by Christine Boxall
James and Bethany at home by Mike Brigan
Rob by Sandy Carr
Dandelion Clocks by Sheila Culling
Coming Home by Heather Farmer
Endangered Species - Urangutan by David Frampton
Blue Skies by Ruth Garner
Overwhelming by Anna Hearn
Jump! by Jan Heath
Weston-super-Mare by Margaret Johnson
Flamenco Explosion by Ken Maharajah
Gemma by Joanna McInnes
Penny’s Mother by Michael Moore
Fast Forward by Judith Parrott
Autumn Sun by Jane Potter
The Shopper by Hadrian Richards
Local Hero by Janice Spedding
Crichton Church Through a Crystal Ball by Brian Taylor
Dogs by Alison Torvaney
Breathing Woods by Kim Varney
Still Life in the Bathroom by Bob Walsh
Painting of my Town Barga by Petra Wend
DRAMA
The Play's The Thing by Brian Beech
Priceless by Sue Bevan
A Five-Star Escape by Andrea Blake
The Wanderer by Christopher Carey
Joe Cuckoo by Christopher Darcy
Simply Joan by Steve Dimmer
Shall We Talk? by Alison Finch
The Guitarist, The Mamzer, and the Bar Mitzvah by Irwin Hahn
Riven Rock Farm by Marian McCraith
Locked Down by Barry Syder
Coo Blimey by Christopher Ward
MUSIC
Till Then ... by Lynda Berger
Who Done It by Alan Brown
Elegy for 2020 by Tom Cowhig
The Road Less Travelled by David Cummins
Myn Liking by Geoffrey Foxall
Clarinet Symphony in E Flat by Laurence Glazier
Like the Touch of Rain by Stephen Godward
The Great Lockdown Tango by Howard Haigh
Wild West Britain by Alan Hammonds
Reflections by Don Hart
The First Snow by Nigel Horn
Social Distancing by Lynn Blake John
I Don't Want To Hold Your Hand by Tony Littman
Tantum Ergo, You Will Change by Miriam Mackie
Before Christmas by Keith Marshall
Just One More Christmas by David Newton
Romance for Horn & Orchestra by Cedric Peachey
Recorder Trio by Rosemary Robinson
Things That Matter To Me by Chris Rogan
The Joker by Christopher Salt
My Brother's Motorbike by Glyn Shipman
You Not Here (With Me) by Jed Spittle
The King Needs 1,000 Horses by Sally Thompson
Recordare by Nigel Waugh
In the Time of Pandemic by Clive Whitburn
Soliloquy by Keith Williamson
POETRY
Pearl Anniversary by Julia Angell
Dad by Diana Boanas
The Fox by Carole Bone
Headstone Graven by Robin Carr
My Corner of Paradise by Gloria Curl
What I Know by Anne Davies
Cissie Klein by Anthony Hentschel
For You Mam by William Isherwood
Missing Mum During Lockdown by Renee Jordan
90 Seconds Beneath the Sea by Jim King
Back to the Bardo by Jim King
Excavator by Angela Langfield
Everyone's Got Problems by Susan Lavender
Wounded Oak by Philip McCumskey
The Vigil by Christine Miskelly
Two-Steppin' at the Savoy by Deb Nelson
Airy Nothingness by John Palmer
Fields of Fire by Terence Pape
The Painter and the Model by Jacqui Rozdoba
A Pilgrim Gave Praise by Susan Serrano-Enriquez
Purposes of Navigation by Judith Shaw
Cage Life Hong Kong by Theresa Sowerby
Unlocked by Elizabeth Thomas
Ode to a Slug by Colin Trenholme
Leicestershire Alps by Sally Wilson
SHORT STORY
Brush Strokes by James Earl Adair
Bramblewood by Christopher Best
To Annie, Through Lockdown by Kate Bromwich-Alexandra
The Gods are Laughing by Jean Burnett
The Journey by Richard Deeley
Not Waving by Nicola Hollis
The Roman Way by Lowri Hughes
The Taintless Tide by Katie Koehler
The Arrangements by Jacquie Penrose
Ragdoll by Sheila Plumbe
Blue Cotton Pyjamas by Angela Robinson
The Sweet Smell of Success by Ray Robinson
The Wizard's Apprentice by Stephanie Rybak
Welcome to My World by Ann Tipper
I'm Hungry by Sue Westcott
ANIMATION & OTHER ART FORMS
Over The Horizon (Covid 19 was not "Bad Flu") by Stuart Taylor