A handful of celebrities, including Daniel Radcliffe and Eddie Redmayne, are recording readings of the first Harry Potter novel, The Philosopher’s Stone.
Families can access these readings for free in video form on harrypotterathome.com or in audio form exclusively through Spotify.
Surprise! We've got a treat for you…From today, amazing friends of the Wizarding World are going to take turns reading Harry Potter book one.
And to start us off with Chapter 1, we think you’ll agree we have the perfect narrator…⚡️ #HarryPotterAtHome
https://t.co/w9K77akbou pic.twitter.com/Q03PmjeD5d— Wizarding World (@wizardingworld) May 5, 2020
Radcliffe, of course, is most famous for his starring role as the titular wizard himself in all eight Harry Potter films. Redmayne, meanwhile, is notable for leading the Harry Potter prequel film series, Fantastic Beasts, as quirky zoologist Newt Scamander.
Outside Radcliffe and Redmayne, this initiative will also feature readings from Stephen Fry (who has voiced the U.K. audiobook versions of all seven Harry Potter novels), soccer icon David Beckham, Dakota Fanning (the Twilight series), Claudia Kim (Nagini in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald) and Noma Dumezweni (Hermione in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child).
For now, only Radcliffe’s reading of the novel’s first chapter is available online. However, future chapters read by these and other stars will be released over the coming weeks.
This is the latest free Harry Potter-initiative to be kicked off during the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the past several weeks, creator J.K. Rowling has loosened licensing restrictions on the Harry Potter series to allow teachers to read the books in virtual classroom settings. Further, Google’s Arts & Culture app and website now feature a Harry Potter-themed British Library exhibition, while an online Wizarding World activity hub has launched to entertain families.
Via: The Verge
