Tales from the Statue – Radio 4 extra

Tales from the Statue is a radio programme I made in 2003 with producer Arlene Gregorius. It is being repeated on BBC Radio 4 Extra – Thursday 29 May, at 6.30 am and 8.30 pm and you will also be able to listen on iplayer.

Tales from the Statue is about the Hans Christian Anderson statue in New York’s Central Park. For over 40 years there has been storytelling beside this statue, started by US storyteller Diane Wolkstein. You can hear Diane describing how fathers would bring their children to the statue, then sit back to read their papers and smoke cigars. But gradually they would be drawn into the story, they would stop reading, and listen. Now the event is just as popular with adults as it is with children, and the statue has become so loved, its’ knee is shiny from people touching it. The programme interviews several tellers from the US who have performed at the statue, including Laura Simms, and discusses the value of listening and imagining with UK storyteller Ben Haggarty.

Diane died suddenly last year when she was doing what she loved, collecting stories. You can read more about her here. But Diane has left behind a lasting legacy of stories she collected and translated. And the storytelling at the statue continues, and is now being programmed by the inspirational New York teller, Laura Simms.