SAFFRON Walden Carnival has its queen and now the Maze Festival is launching the search for its own hero.

Organisers, the Saffron Walden Initiative, are putting on a first ever week-long festival in August to celebrate the town’s unique maze culture.

New mazes and challenges will be created throughout the town and there will be a wide array of events and entertainment for people, of all ages and interests, throughout the week.

For now, the organisers are hunting for Theseus and for someone of ‘stature’ to play his nemesis, the Minotaur, to drum up interest in the event and promote it during the Carnival procession.

Joy Haigh, one of the festival organisers, said: “We’re celebrating all things maze and labyrinth during the festival and we’re also involved in the procession.

“We felt the Carnival had its queen and we wanted a figurehead as well – who better than Theseus and Minotaur, legends of the maze?

“We want our successful candidates to run around the town and attract the attention during the festival as well as walking alongside a manmade maze in the procession. It’s just a bit of fun – it is our search for a male ‘queen’.”

Candidates must be aged over 18 and will need some level of physical fitness as they will be required to represent the two legendary figures during the carnival procession and on both festival weekends: August 21 and 27-28.

If you are interested in playing either role (acting skills are not required) e-mail the Maze Festival organiser Barbara Wilcox at barbarawilcox@ntlworld.com, and include a recent full length photograph together with your name, address, date of birth and availability during festival week, plus a short supporting statement to say why you should play Theseus or the Minotaur.

Deadline for applications is May 31.

For more information about the Maze Festival – which runs August 20-28 – visit saffronwaldenmazefestival.co.uk