Meet Hull's Living Statue Andy Train
Living statue and all-round entertainer Andy Train tells Living North how his unique act is shining a light on Hull from across the globe
‘My whole world got interesting in about 2002 when I came out, which was a bit of a revelation and post-2004, when I’d been to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival doing a one-man comedy show based upon my life in A&E and my experiences of working in the NHS,’ says Andy. ‘I started nursing in 1989 and worked in Hull’s infirmary, then progressed to working at Alfred Bean Hospital in Driffield. Somebody said, have you ever thought about putting all the funny things you say together into a show? I’d never really thought about it but naively asked the question “where does one do standup?” I literally went from not doing any performing at all to doing a one-man show at the Edinburgh Fringe for a whole month. It was kind of a vertical learning curve really because the routine involves [self] promoting the show. The Edinburgh Fringe is a massive, incredible hub of entertainment and all art forms are there. I was giving out flyers for my show every day for months. Some days I’d flyer with a pseudo-nursing uniform on and other days I’d do it as a comedy character called the Drunk Waiter.
‘The following year my friend, who owns a kilt shop in Edinburgh, asked how they could get more involved in the Fringe, and I said if you take one of your mannequins out, I’ll stand in your window all day – just for a bit of fun. They dressed me up like a mannequin. I got some face and body paint from a local joke shop and my living statue career began. They’d never had so many random people coming into the store to have a look around. I kept so still but I winked and made them jump and then they’d tell their friends to come along.’
And so The Gold Man was born. Representing a northern businessman and painted gold, Andy would sit in his bowler hat and suit ‘eating’ fish and chips on a bench. ‘I wanted people to be involved and join in,’ he explains. ‘It was a bit of a selfie opportunity; they could come and sit down and pose with me. I figured it was easier to sit down and be still than it was to stand up,’ he laughs. ‘I used to busk regularly in Hull and York, and occasionally Leeds. I’d even been to Las Ramblas in Barcelona, and that went well, so I went back to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival with The Gold Man and became a regular over the years.’
Andy then became involved in various international festivals and events. ‘You’d go to one then somebody would recommend you for another one,’ says Andy. ‘It was a newish act and people hadn’t seen anything quite like it before from a Brit because it’s usually the Portuguese, the Dutch and the Germans that really revel at this type of thing. It is actually more revered abroad than it is in the UK. Here a lot of people look and think, what heck are you doing that for? That’s why I joked with Time Magazine that it was basically “posh begging”, one step up if you like. People eventually kind of got it, and in [Hull] I became quite well known, and then was part of a project for Hull UK City of Culture 2017. Then the pandemic happened. People couldn’t sit next to me and the amount of loose change people had… It’s not the same really sending a child across with a credit card to tap for a busker,’ he laughs.
With the maritime history of Hull, and its legacy through stories of the trawlermen, the docks and the port experience of the city, Andy suggested venturing into something that was going to be a bit more impactful based on those stories which led to Three in a Boat. ‘I said I’ll be the docker, and then we’ll have a trawlermen and a whaler (because we did want to recognise that had happened, although it’s not something that we obviously encourage globally now),’ he explains. ‘So the three of us, with our little plaque each (that would quite clearly say what each character was), would perform. We’d been wheeled out for various festivals, but I wanted to pitch Three In a Boat to the Dutch organisers of the World Championships.’
The championships took place in Alkmaar. ‘It’s a beautiful city,’ says Andy. ‘If you can imagine a cross between Beverley and York, but with canals. We had a great time and it was great to be there telling our story. You don’t need language when you’re telling a story through living statues. We just took it in our stride and then bam – we won! It was incredible. You could’ve knocked me over with a feather. To say we’re living statues, we were speechless… I did swear actually but not within earshot of anybody! Idols of mine in the world of the living statues were coming over to congratulate us and it was just the best feeling ever and it was quite interesting watching myself on Dutch news that evening with subtitles underneath. I’m just so proud of the fact that we’d taken these characters across from Hull to one of our nearest continental neighbours (the ferry goes across to Rotterdam) and taken our story of our maritime history to the rest of the world.’
Andy says the key to being a successful living statue is patience. ‘I think the only thing in my career, in my life, that has helped me with being a living statue would be nursing,’ he explains. ‘It’s about being patient with people. Also enjoying being outside. Anybody who’s ever sat outside a café on a street and watched the world go by will know; if you’re a people watcher, it’s definitely for you. You name me an interaction. I’ve probably had it happen to me as a living statue. I’ve been hugged, I’ve been kissed, I’ve been flashed at. I’ve been kicked, I’ve been spat at. It’s entertainment. Timing is everything and moving at the right time to make people jump.
‘There are whole festivals abroad dedicated to living statues and this has been the key to travel over the years for me. We’ve only ever had one statue festival here in the UK, at Stratford – you’re there posing as a statute next to a statue of Shakespeare. That was great because other performers had a go at it and added another string to their bow. I’ve got friends down in Brighton who are living statues, there’s a whole world of the street theatre genre.’
When he’s not a living statue, Andy brings Sir Topham Hatt to life at licensed Day Out With Thomas events. This year events are taking place at Whistlestop Valley in Huddersfield in June, August and September. ‘We bring a human element and interaction to the whole world of Thomas the Tank Engine, which is 80 this year,’ he explains. ‘We sing, we dance, we perform, we pose for pictures and we interact with Thomas and Percy and the other characters on the railway. Generations of families come. They’re still very much loved and as long as they’re on TV and as long as they keep making those books and all the toys, people will still want to meet the real Thomas the Tank Engine.’
