A collection of stories and poems, delivered by a whole host of actors, was uploaded and locked onto Superhero Creative-Tonies. 

A group of Britain’s most celebrated actors have pooled their storytelling skills during lockdown to entertain the children at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) with the help of Tonies, the children’s storytelling audio device.

Award-winning talent including Olivia Colman, Katherine Parkinson and Keira Knightley recorded readings of their favourite children’s stories to entertain young patients staying on the wards at GOSH, as they receive vital treatment for rare and complex conditions.

The stars worked with Tonies to help bring this Magical Audio Experience to the children in the hospital. The collection of stories and poems, delivered by a variety of actors, was uploaded and locked onto Superhero Creative-Tonies for the children to listen to in the wards as often as they liked.

Stories recorded include: Dr Doolittle, In the Night Kitchen, Mr Sneeze and The Sulky Vulture, plus a series of poems from A. A. Milne. The readings from actors of both stage and screen were uploaded onto 50 Creative-Tonies for 50 Tonieboxes and donated to Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity (GOSH Charity). They were distributed by members of the hospital’s dedicated play team, filling the wards with the sounds of captivating readings.

Joel Keating, heading up this project from United Agents, office of Lindy King, commented: “Sharing positive stories during a challenging few months felt like a way we could truly make a difference to the children receiving treatment at Great Ormond Street Hospital. We hope that this project has brought some comfort, entertainment and smiles to them.”

Manon Sel, UK GM and Pinky Laing, UK Partnerships at Tonies, added: “We are thrilled to have been able to bring this wonderful idea to life and play our part in helping to offer a welcome distraction to those children currently in Great Ormond Street Hospital by producing this compilation of stories by these amazing actors. Our main goal at Tonies is to entertain and inspire young minds through the magical world of storytelling. When the request came in, we knew straight away that we wanted to help. Tonies is proud to support Great Ormond Street Hospital.”