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Lady of light shines once more
History was made when a statue on top of the Kings Theatre had her torch lit up for the first time in 70 years.
Following extensive restoration work at the theatre in Southsea, the statue – named Aurora by News readers in a 2006 competition – had her torch switched on by cast members of The Naked Truth, including Lisa Riley and Abi Titmuss.
Aurora, sculpted by Colin Farren from Chichester, is fibre glass replica of the famous The Spirit of Progress, which was removed from the top of the Albert Road theatre during the Second World War amid fears German bomber pilots would use it to aim for Portsmouth Naval Dockyard.
The golden statue went missing for many years and lay undiscovered in a Portsmouth scrapyard until she was found 20 years ago.
She now resides in the foyer of the theatre.
Following the big switch-on on Friday night, Aurora's torch will shine every night and only go out when a performance is on stage, the same as all those years ago.
Chairman of the Trust, Ron Hasker said: 'Lighting Aurora's torch honours the fantastic restoration work that has been done and the look of the theatre's tower in its original Edwardian glory is just stunning.'
Sandra Smith of The Kings added: 'It's just marvellous, it's history in the making.'
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Weather for Portsmouth
Saturday 11 February 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: -4 C to 4 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 3 C to 7 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: North west
