Richard E Grant to narrate UK audiobook of Birch's Bacon in Moscow

Actor Richard E Grant will narrate the UK audiobook edition of James Birch’s Bacon in Moscow (Cheerio).

The book is billed as a funny and personal account of an audacious attempt by James Birch, the English curator, to mount the ground-breaking Francis Bacon exhibition at the newly refurbished Central House of Artists, Moscow, in 1988. It will be published in hardback on 27th January.

Grant said: “I absolutely loved reading this audiobook — ‘recent history’ conjured up and delivered with first-hand insight and humour, navigating Byzantine Russian mores versus the ways of the British art world.”

Birch added: “Richard E Grant’s brilliant recording perfectly captures the character and charisma of Francis Bacon and other now distant voices from my childhood and youth. He also manages to evoke with equal measures of seriousness and humour the spirit and strangeness of life lead behind the Iron Curtain.”

Clare Conville and Harriet Vyner, co-founders of Cheerio, commented: “Iconic Richard E Grant’s reading of Bacon in Moscow is funny, serious, unexpected and devastating by turns. True genius. We are so thrilled that Richard is part of Cheerio.”