Peter Pan joins Talking Statues!

We've partnered with The Royal Parks and Sing London to bring the 100-year-old Peter Pan statue magically to life. Originally commissioned and paid for by the book’s author JM Barrie, passers-by can from today swipe their smartphones on a nearby tag and get a personal ‘call back’ from Peter.

On the other end of the line, they will hear a dramatic three-minute Peter Pan monologue that has been written by acclaimed playwright Ella Hickson and voiced by Daniel Roche , star of popular BBC TV series Outnumbered. Appealing to young and old alike, the audio transports the listener back to Neverland, the home of Peter Pan and his gang of Lost Boys.

JM Barrie positioned his statue on the edge of the lake in Kensington Gardens as this is where in the original story, Peter Pan landed in his bird nest boat made of twigs after sailing from Bird Island.

Playwright Ella Hickson, who wrote ‘Wendy and Peter Pan’ for a Royal Shakespeare Company production last year, enjoyed working on the project. She said: “

Giving voice to London's statues is a wonderful idea.  I think of them like a gaggle of old friends playing hide and seek across the city. Finally they get the chance to talk back”.

Daniel Roche said:

Peter Pan is a character who has always fascinated me and it’s amazing to help bring him to life”.

Two more Royal Parks’ statues will join the project at a later date - Achilles and Isis, both in London’s Hyde Park. A script for Achilles has already been written by Rebecca Lenkiewicz; the Isis monologue will be chosen from entries to a public competition launching today, featuring this and other statues.

As part of Talking Statues, 35 statues across London and Manchester will speak for one year.