Talking statues competition announced to give words to the Molly Malone and Apples & Atoms Statues
What would Molly Malone’s statue say if given the gift of speech as she surveys Dublin with her cart of ‘cockles and mussels’ from her ‘pitch’ at Suffolk Street? Would she sing or would she shout? The answer is up to the public as Fáilte Ireland announce a competition to put words into the mouths of the Molly Malone and the Apples & Atoms, School of Physics (in Trinity College) statues.
This is the latest development of the Dublin’s Talking Statues project which is an initiative of Fáilte Ireland in conjunction with Sing London with the assistance of Dublin City Council, OPW, Trinity College, The National Gallery, The GPO and The Abbey Theatre. Find out more about the project at www.talkingstatuesdublin.ie.
Entries from the public for the competition are welcome before the 31st March and can be sent to competitions@talkingstatuesdublin.ie. As part of the competition, the Abbey Theatre is also holding a free writing workshop on Monday, 26th February next to help budding scriptwriters to put their thoughts to paper. Limited places are available by emailing phil.kingston@abbeytheatre.ie and marking the subject line, statues workshop.
Speaking about the competition, Fáilte Ireland’s Head of Dublin, Keelin Fagan explained:
“Fáilte Ireland is delighted to announce the addition of two new statues to its ‘Talking Statues’ initiative which has proved very popular with Dubliners and visitors alike. The accompanying competition is a wonderful way to allow the public to decide what the two statues would say from their vantage points in Suffolk Street and Trinity College and have their script recorded by actors from the Abbey Theatre shared with thousands of visitors to the capital.”
Budding writers are being asked to write a short monologue of up to 300 words which will be recorded by the Abbey Theatre. Further information and competition guidelines are available at www.talkingstatuesdublin.ie .
About the Talking Statues Initiative
The ten statues currently in operation across Dublin city are:
|
Statue |
Written by |
Narrated by |
|
James Connolly |
Brendan O’ Carroll |
Brendan O’Carroll |
|
James Joyce |
Roddy Doyle |
Gabriel Byrne |
|
James Larkin |
Enda Walsh |
Stephen Rea |
|
Fidelity – Daniel O Connell Monument |
Paula Meehan |
Ruth Negga |
|
Wolfe Tone |
Patrick McCabe |
Brendan Gleeson |
|
Oscar Wilde |
John Banville |
Andrew Scott |
|
Meeting Place |
Rachel Kilfeather |
Brenda Fricker |
|
Cú Chulainn |
Eoin Colfer |
Peter Coonan |
|
George Bernard Shaw |
Arthur Mathews |
Stephen Brennan |
As visitors walk past the 10 statues, plaques encourage them to use their smartphone to swipe a QR code (or access a weblink). If they do this, they will get a call back from well-known actors such as Ruth Negga, Peter Coonan and Brendan O’Carroll who will recite a specially written monologue giving a voice to the statue in question.
Each monologue is designed to bring the stories of the statues, and of Dublin itself, to life with words written by an assortment of esteemed writers including scriptwriter Rachel Kilfeather, Irish poet and playwright, Paula Meehan and comedic writer Arthur Mathews. Listen to extracts from some of the monologues here.
Using drama, humour and technology, Dublin’s Talking Statues breathes new life into a selection of Dublin statues and adds another layer to the visitor’s experience of Dublin.
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