Shakespeare statues appear along Birmingham-Stratford rail route
Statues honouring the world-famous playwright William Shakespeare have been installed on train platforms along a West Midlands railway line. A total of 18 stations between Birmingham Moor Street and the birthplace of Shakespeare, Stratford-upon-Avon, have been connected to a different one of his plays, with 34 statues placed along the route.Some of the pairings include, Yardley Wood and Twelfth Night, Wood End and The Merchant of Venice, as well as Henley-in-Arden and Romeo and Juliet. Students from King Edward VI School in Stratford, which Shakespeare attended, marked the unveiling of their town's statue with a short performance of an extract from As You Like It.
Nick Abbey, the school's head of English, said: "Shakespeare remains a central part of the English curriculum, not least because of the power and beauty of his language, but also because the characters he creates and the emotions they experience still feel fresh and relevant to today's students".
'The statues put the line on the map'
A spokesperson for Network Rail said the project had been made possible as a result of funding from Friends of the Shakespeare Line (FoSL), Network Rail, West Midlands Railway and Chiltern Railways.Jonny Wiseman, from West Midlands Railway, said: "The West Midlands is rich in literary history and we are sure these new artworks will bring a sense of local pride to the millions of passengers who pass through these stations each year".The stations have a flower box alongside each statue to provide information to locals and visitors about the play it is connected to and the story of Shakespeare in Warwickshire. Neil Morgan, treasurer of FoSL, added that the statues had put the line "well and truly on the map".
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