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Tuesday 19 Aug 2014

Talking Statues at London Paddington station

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National

Visitors to London Paddington station can listen to the statues of The Unknown Soldier and Isambard Kingdom Brunel for the first time.

Voiced by the actors Sir Patrick Stewart and Hugh Bonneville, the statues have been brought to life as part of the Talking Statues project, which Network Rail is supporting.

The Unknown Soldier is voiced by Sir Patrick Stewart reading a monologue inspired by the soldier’s scarf. Sir Patrick Stewart said: “I think ‘Talking Statues’ is a lovely idea. It brings a sense of intimacy and personality to the statues that surround us all”.

The piece was written by the playwright Tony Harrison: “People often assume that he’s wearing a belt of bullets round his neck but if you look closely you see that it’s a knitted scarf.” explains Harrison. “I imagined it as red scarf, hand knitted by his mother...“

The statue of Brunel has been animated by Hugh Bonneville, reading a piece written by the playwright Rachel Wagstaff . “Brunel was such a fascinating man,’ says Wagstaff. “ It’s wonderful that he can be recognised in the station which he designed!”. Hugh Bonneville added: “The idea of discovering unsung heroes and bringing them to life is captivating. This is certainly an exciting way of bringing them to our attention”.

Nick Hartnell, Network Rail’s station manager at London Paddington welcomed the Talking Statues project: “We’re delighted to see the statues at the station brought to life in this manner. I hope that passengers who have the time will stop and listen to these statues for a few moments.”

The project sees 35 statues in London and Manchester animated by a cast of actors and comedians. The producers, Sing London, have commissioned some of the nation’s most celebrated writers to pen monologues for the statues, which will speak for one year.

Other London statues in the project include:

• Dominic West as a stir crazy Achilles in Hyde Park
• Jeremy Paxman defending free speech as John Wilkes in Fetter Lane
• Baker Street’s Sherlock Holmes, as imagined by Anthony Horowitz
• Nicholas Parsons as Samuel Johnson’s famous cat, Hodge in Gough Square
• Hugh Dennis as a goat in Spitalfields
• Alan Johnson MP as Rowland Hill, inventor of the Penny Black in EC1
• Simon Russell Beale as Isaac Newton at the British Library

Talking Statues in Manchester include:

• The Reading Girl, in Manchester Central Library, written by Dame Jacqueline Wilson,
• Tom Conti as Lincoln in Manchester’s Lincoln Square, written by Gary Younge, Prunella Scales as Queen Victoria in Piccadilly Gardens. Written by Katrina Hendry whose play about Victoria generated great acclaim.
• Coronation Street star David Neilson propping up the bar as LS Lowry at Sam’s Chop House, written by exciting new talent, Kiran Benawra
• Russell Tovey as code-breaker Alan Turing, penned by Mark Ravenhill.

A public competition has been launched to animate another four statues:

• The Leaping Hare on Crescent and Bell, Broadgate Estates, London
• Isis, Hyde Park, London
• Shakespeare, guarding the way to knowledge at British Library, London
• T-Rex, the Jurassic giant housed in Manchester Museum

The winning monlogues will be chosen in November and be recorded by well known public figures. Details of the contest can be found at www.talkingstatues.co.uk.