An evening with Letters Live

Today is Good Friday, the first day of the Easter weekend and the first day of my birthday weekend celebrations. After waking up with a sore shoulder I decide I need a massage and promptly book myself in as I've many a thing to do today, and having a sore should is not one of them.

After my massage at Siam Sanctuary (which was amazing) I head into Trafalgar Square for the afternoon. Today there is a performance of the Jesus story-taking place. I caught the last 30 mins of the event - just as Jesus was dying on the cross. It was sprinkling rain, not enough to have thought to bring an umbrella, but enough to make you wet when you stand outside in it for half an hour.

With 2.5 hours to kill and walking in the rain an unappealing option, I headed into the National Gallery, which is located beside Trafalgar Square. After seeing some art, I went up to their dining rooms, which overlook Trafalgar Square. It was a beautiful spot to spend the early evening eating and watching.

When it was time to leave the rain had cooled off and I walked the new freshly wet streets of London to Holborn, which is probably my favourite time of London.

Tonight I am off to the Freemans Church to see an event called Letters Live.

Letters Live is an annual event, which began in 2013. It's a series of 5 evenings, where a different set of actors each night, read a different set of letters each night.

Inspired by Letters of note, by Shaun Usher and To the Letter by Simon Garfield, These letters are drawn from the two books of inspiration and are curated into a wonderful evening of performances, poetry and music.

As stated on their website, "We don’t just programme a series of reading, we curate performances taking into consideration the content of the letter, its style, the person who reads it and where, ensuring each even tis unique and intimate".

And that’s exactly what we got. From the musical numbers chosen to start and end each session, to the specific actors chosen for each reading, to their way they may have used their voice or expressions to transport us to the time and place the letter was written. It was just fantastic. And the Freemasons’ Hall, where it was held, was a specular and so beautiful.

It has probably been my favourite show so far, and one that I wish would be held in Australia. With each night being very unique to the next, it's also the only show I wish I'd bought a ticket to every night. It would've been amazing!

It has certainly inspired me to continue / take up letter writing. Look out back home. Letters are coming your way xx

Tonight’s line up comprised of:

singer Tom Odell
Geoffrey Palmer
Benedict Cumberbatch
Gemma Chan
Colin Salmon
Samantha Bond
Louise Brealey
Sanjeev Bhaskar
Joanne Froggatt
Tom Sturridge
Olivia Colman
author Andrew O’Hagan
cellist Natalie Clein

Full List of readings from Friday 3rd April

"The Letter" by Wayne Carson Thompson, sang by The Box Tops, performed by Tom Odell
Evelyn Waugh’s 1942 letter to his wife Laura, o how not to blow up a tree stump, read by Geoffrey Palmer
Robert Crumb’s letter to Mats Gustafsson “Torturing the saxophone”, read by Benedict Cumberbatch
Rachel Carson’s letter to Dorothy Freeman “Dear One”, read by Gemma Chan
Bill Safire’s pre-prepared speech sent to H.R. Haldemann in July 1969 “In the event of Moon Disaster”, to be read by President Nixon if Apoolo 11 did not land safely on the Moon, read by Colin Salmon
Tina Fey’s response to internet commentators “Dear Internet”, read by Samantha Bond
Michael Powell’s letter to Martin Scorsese, after he read the script for Goodfellas, read by Benedict Cumberbatch
Beatrix Potter’s letter to Noel Moore “The Tale of Peter Rabbit”, read by Louise Brealey
V.S. Naipaul’s letter to copy editor Sonny Mehta “Every writer has his own voice”, read by Sanjeev Bhaskar
Zelda Fitzgerald’s letter to her husband F.Scott Fitzgerald “Come quick to me”, read by Joanne Froggatt
Mark Twain’s letter to J.H. Todd “An idiot of the 33rd degree”, read by Tom Sturridge
“Chinese Form Letter” from 856 AD “I was ready to sink into the earth with shame”, read by Olivia Colman
Kurt Vonnegut’s letter to Charles McCarthy “I am very real”, read by Andrew O’Hagan
“Dialogue” by Gyorgy Ligeti, performed by cellist Natalie Clein
Chris Barker & Bessie Moore’s “My Dear Bessie”, read by Benedict Cumberbatch & Louise Brealey
“Love Letter” by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, performed by Tom Odell
More of Chris Barker & Bessie Moore’s “My Dear Bessie”, read by Benedict Cumberbatch & Louise Brealey
Hugh Dowding’s letter to Winston Churchill, 1940, “Final, complete & irremediable defeat”, read by Geoffrey Palmer
Carl Jung’s letter to James Joyce “A string of veritable psychological peaches”, read by Andrew O’Hagan
Three Elvis fans’s letter to U.S. President Eisenhower “Don’t touch his hair”, read by Olivia Colman
Alan Turing’s letter to Mrs Morcon “You could not have had a greater loss”, read by Benedict Cumberbatch
John Steinbeck’s letter to his son Tom “Nothing good gets away”, read by Colin Salmon
Clementine Churchill’s letter to husband Winston Churchill “You are not so kind as you used to be”, read by Samantha Bond
Henry James’s letter to Grace Norton “Sorrow passes and we remain”, read by Tom Sturridge
Private Eye’s letter to Goodman, Dorrick & Co “Arkell v. Pressdram”, read by Geoffrey Palmer
W.C. Lathrop’s letter to Thomas Edison “Thanks Mr. Edison”, read by Joanne Froggatt
Spike Milligan’s letter to Stephen Gard “Oh Christ, the cook is dead?”, read by Sanjeev Bhaskar
Charlotte Bronte’s letter to her sister Emily’s publisher W.S. Williams “Like a tree in full bearing”, read by Louise Brealey
Lion Feuchtwanger’s letter to the occupant of his home in 1935 “To The Occupant”, read by Benedict Cumberbatch
“I’m gonna sit right down and write myself a letter” by Fats Weller, performed by Tom Odell

What I saw
Freemason's Hall - 60 Great Queen St., Covent Garden, London, England, United Kingdom
Trafalgar Square - Centre of the City, London, England, United Kingdomもっと詳しく