Acting royalty Dame Judi Dench and Sir Kenneth Branagh unveil the restored Shakespeare statue at Stratford Town Hall
Acting royalty were in Stratford this afternoon (Friday, 22nd April) to unveil the restored Shakespeare statue at the town hall.
After a civic reception Sir Kenneth Branagh and Dame Judi Dench stood on the town hall’s balcony in order to ceremoniously remove a red velvet covering from the statue.
Ken thanked the assembled crowd for coming and said Judi had assured him she was a master at unveiling statues. “Keep your fingers crossed and we’ll give it a go,” joked Ken.
However Judi paused to share a jokey story. “Before I go ahead I’ll just tell you what happened to me a couple of months ago. We ordered a takeaway and the man that came to the door said ‘Ooh I know you!’ Thinking hard he said ‘You were in… er er’ and so I said ‘Lady Macbeth…? As Time Goes By…?’ and he said ‘No, it was the Mayflower Restaurant in Stratford-upon-Avon!’”
With that, Judi gave the rope attached to the covering a tug to reveal the now gleaming white Shakespeare statue after its £45K restoration.
Ken continued: “When I came to Stratford when I was 17 and I looked around town seeing all the things associated with Shakespeare and that is when I first saw the Garrick statue.
“Now, thanks to the efforts of many people here in Stratford-upon-Avon who read the complete works of this man in the town hall in March organised by Paul Edmondson, Shakespeare is back.”
Which actor David Garrick gifted the Shakespeare statue to Stratford in 1769 he was given the freedom of Stratford. The same honour was also was conferred upon Ken and Judi.
Ken commented: “We are thrilled to be honourary free women and men of this town.
“If you are here for the Birthday Celebrations, I wish you a sunny day and have a great time among these people and buildings. And well done William Shakespeare!”
One of the benefits of being given the freedom of the town is the right to drive your sheep down Sheep Street, and so to mark this – and to maximise photo opportunities – Ken and Judi then posed with local sheep Storm and Sauce.
For more on this story see next Thursday’s Herald.
