“Who else but me is ever going to read these letters?” – Anne Frank
“Letters Live makes us pause and imagine the lives behind the letters read and the circumstances of their origins; they are the poetry of means of communication. Letters are windows into the love, beauty, pain, and humour of their creators and recipients – it’s a privilege to read this most ancient of communications live to an audience.” – Benedict Cumberbatch
You know when you just have a really, really brilliant night out? I was treated to the most enjoyable evening I’ve had in a very long time last week at Letters Live – an evening of performance inspired by the brilliant Letters of Note; a celebration of the enduring power of literary correspondence, where remarkable letters are read by some of the finest artists of our time.
Throughout the short five night run from Tuesday 31 March – Saturday 4 April, guests were treated to seeing some of the world’s greatest voices on stage including Sir Ian McKellen, Benedict Cumberbatch, Sir Ben Kingsley, Dominic West, Sally Hawkins, Caitlin Moran, Joss Ackland, Russell Brand, Simon Callow, Olivia Colman, Louise Brealey, Andrew Scott, Clarke Peters, Tom Odell, Kylie Minogue, Toby Jones….the list is endless.
I had tickets for the Thursday evening and turned up at the suitably spectacular venue – The Freemasons’ Hall in Covent Garden – to meet my fellow book loving friends Laura and Lauren. We ooh-ed and ahh-ed our way up to our seats; the Hall is famed as one of the greatest Art Deco buildings in Britain and it’s not hard to see why…
After hitting up the bar and perusing the book stall – which provides great inspiration if you’re looking to read more examples of letters – we headed to the main hall and its exquisite set up for the evening. Little did we know how much of a treat we were in for….
As the show got underway with Benedict doing a fantastic reading of a letter titled ‘Don’t be so bloody vulnerable’ from Noel Coward to his good friend actress Marlene Dietrich, we were then continually treated to a truly brilliantly curated evening of a mix of letters that depicted every side of humanity that infects all our lives – love, fear, sadness, comedy, tragedy, hope, loneliness and happiness. The diverse selection crossed over perfectly into the worlds of film, literature, fashion, art and music – ensuring there really was something for everyone. 
From Danny Huston performing Marlon Brando’s letter of recommendation to Michael Mann, to Virginia Woolf’s heart-breaking suicide letter, through to Clarke Peters reading a letter from the late 1800s of a freed slave to his previous master of 32 years, to the beautiful Sophie Hunter reading a letter from Clementine Churchill to The Times on the worth of being a woman.
A personal highlight was hearing Sir Ben Kingsley reprise his role as Gandhi to read the letter Mahatma sent to Adolf Hitler in 1939 asking for peace before the outbreak of war while Sir Ian McKellen looked on, listening intently.
I simply cannot recommend one of these events enough – follow Letters of Note on Twitter for updates of the next Letters Live event. You can also purchase the Letters of Note hardback book via any online retailer or pop into your local Waterstones to pick up a copy – it makes a brilliant gift too.
Thank you Canongate Publishing, for putting on a magical, unique and intimate event that will no doubt have touched everyone who attended. Hopefully this post might have even inspired you to pick up a pen and paper and write a letter to a certain someone…
LMNH x
