SIR IAN MCKELLEN, JUDE LAW, CAROLINE FLACK, TOM ODELL AND MORE AT LETTERS LIVE


BLUE PETER’S LINDSEY RUSSELL, SANJEEV BHASKAR, JULIA DONALDSON, ROMANY GILMOUR, ELLIE BAMBER AND KELVIN JONES TAKE TO THE STAGE FOR STAR STUDDED LETTERS LIVE FAMILY MATINEE AT LONDON’S ICONIC FREEMASONS’ HALL

SIR IAN MCKELLEN, JUDE LAW, CAROLINE FLACK, TOM ODELL, BLUE PETER’S LINDSEY RUSSELL, SANJEEV BHASKAR, JULIA DONALDSON, ROMANY GILMOUR, ELLIE BAMBER AND KELVIN JONES TAKE TO THE STAGE FOR STAR STUDDED LETTERS LIVE FAMILY MATINEE AT LONDON’S ICONIC FREEMASONS’ HALL

LINE UPS EACH NIGHT REMAIN A CLOSELY GUARDED SECRET, NAMES YET TO APPEAR INCLUDE BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH, OLIVIA COLMAN, CAREY MULLIGAN, CAITLIN MORAN, JACK DEE, DAVID NICHOLLS AND MANY MORE. 

NAMES APPEARED SO FAR IN THE RUN INCLUDE GILLIAN ANDERSON, JARVIS COCKER, BOB GELDOF, JOHN BISHOP, MATT BERRY AND MANY MORE

LETTERS LIVE IS AT FREEMASONS’ HALL FROM 10-15TH MARCH, A LIMITED AMOUNT OF £10 TICKETS ARE RELEASED EACH NIGHT ON THE DOOR

 

Today, 12th March, Letters Live - the live celebration of literary correspondence - hosted their first family matinee at Freemasons’ Hall with a host of star studded names. The line up included: SIR IAN MCKELLEN, JUDE LAW, CAROLINE FLACK, TOM ODELL, BLUE PETER’S LINDSEY RUSSELL, SANJEEV BHASKAR, JULIA DONALDSON, ROMANY GILMOUR, ELLIE BAMBER AND KELVIN JONES. Letters Live continues until 15th March, tickets are on sale from ticketmaster.co.uk/letterslive.

Inspired by Shaun Usher’s international best-selling Letters of Note series and Simon Garfield’s To the Letter, Letters Live is a celebration of the enduring power of literary correspondence throughout history. Each show features a completely different array of great performers, reading remarkably emotive, diverse and surprising letters from around the world. The shows benefit a range of literary charities, including Ministry of Stories, First Story and Help Refugees.

Letters read at the show, include –

Jude Law - Roy Bradbury to William Stanhope - “Be your own self, Love what YOU love"
Julia Donaldson - Beatrix Potter to Noel Moore - “The Tale of Peter Rabbit"
Romany Gilmour and Jude Law - Samantha Smith to Yuri Andropov - “America’s Youngest Ambassador"
Sanjeev Bhaskar - John Cheever to Josie Herbst “He is not a forgiving cat"
Ellie Bamber - “Robert Pirosh to various - “I like words"
Ian McKellen - Roald Dahl to Elizabeth - “Try and be a Dinketysnipsy girl"
Lindsey Russell - Blue Peter letter 
Nathaniel Byng and Lindsey Russell - “I think I no how to make people or animals alive” (Blue Peter letter) 
Caroline Flack - Elizabeth Taylor to her missing cat “I see you my beauty boy"
Ellie Bamber - Lewis Carroll to Annie Rogers - “Your miserable friend, Lewis Carroll"
Romany Gilmour and Sanjeev Bhaskar - Barack Obama and Sophia Bailey-Klugh. “Our differences unite us"
Jude Law - Anonymous child to Rolling Stones “Your road manager needs a poke"
Julia Donaldson - Sylvia Townsend Warner to Alyse Gregory “The Matchbox"
Ellie Bamber - Chrissy Hart to J.K Rowling “A letter from a Mother"
Ian McKellen - Kurt Vonnegut to Xavier High School “Make Your Soul Grow”

Speaking of her appearance, Caroline Flack said: “It was an honour to perform alongside such great actors including Sir Ian McKellen, Russell Brand and Jude Law for Letters Live’s first family matinee today. I read a note from Liz Taylor which as soon as I read, I knew I wanted to bring to life. I’ve really loved being part of it!"

Speaking of his appearance, Tom Odell said: “I performed at the last run of Letters Live shows and was honoured to be asked to return. It’s such a unique experience and show to be involved in."

Following a sell out run at Freemasons’ Hall in 2015, Letters Live returns in 2016 with six evening shows and their first ever family matinee. Refreshments at Letters Live will be hosted by Burger & Lobster with a selection of Tanqueray No. TEN cocktails. 

 

The last run of Letters Live events at the Freemasons’ Hall saw letters written by people as varied as David Bowie, Marge Simpson, Mohandas Gandhi, Elvis Presley, Janis Joplin, Kurt Vonnegut, Charlotte Bronte, Richard Burton, Jane Austen and Che Guevara being read out by a host of stars. 

Watch some of the highlights from last year’s Freemasons’ Hall run here: http://letterslive.com/events/

Ticket prices start at £35 (+Booking Fee). For all ticket information please visit - http://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/letterslive 

Letters Live has supported a range of UK literacy initiatives via auctions and audience fundraising. Beneficiaries in the UK to date are Ministry of Stories, a creative writing and mentoring centre founded by Nick Hornby in East London for young people aged 8-18, First Story, a schools outreach literacy project founded by writer William Fiennes, and The Reading Agency. In June Letters Live co-presented its first event in Los Angeles, along with Dave Eggers’ literacy charity 826LA, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel and which raised over $300,000.

Since its creation by Canongate Books in 2013, Letters Live has grown in reach and reputation.  Following a partnership with film and television production company SunnyMarch in 2015, Letters Live has gone from strength to strength and will be announcing in due course a further twenty to twenty five dates across 2016 and early 2017.

For further information please contact Murray Chalmers PR: 

www.murraychalmers.com 

0207 361 0730

lottie@murraychalmers.com

sarah@murraychalmers.com

murray@murraychalmers.com

12/03/16

NOTES TO EDITORS

About First Story

First Story changes lives through writing; we’ve seen how writing can empower young people and build their literacy, creativity and self-esteem. Our programme brings acclaimed writers into secondary schools serving low-income communities throughout the UK. Through weekly creative-writing workshops, students gain skills that can underpin their success in school, support their transition to employment and enhance the quality of their lives.

We are delighted to be collaborating with Letters Live for the second time. Letter writing is a powerful form of self-expression  and we are thrilled to be part of an event that celebrates this rich art form and promotes the critical importance of literacy. 

About Ministry of Stories

www.ministryofstories.org

The Ministry of Stories is an imaginative space and community that supports and inspires young people to write. It runs innovative storytelling and writing workshops in disadvantaged areas that empower young people’s imaginations and build confidence, self-respect and communication skills. It then provides a publishing platform so their voices and stories are heard.

Current funders include Arts Council London and a number of other charitable trusts, individuals and sponsors. For a comprehensive list and to learn more about ways to donate, please see http://ministryofstories.org/support-us/.

About Canongate

Canongate Books is an Edinburgh based, independent publishing house has twice been named Publisher of the Year at the British Book Awards (2003 and 2009) as well as Independent Publisher of the Year in 2013.  Its international, prize-winning list of authors includes Yann Martel, Barack Obama, Muriel Spark, Ruth Ozeki, Karl Pilkington, Niccolo Ammaniti, Nick Cave, Philip Pullman, Scarlett Thomas, Matt Haig, Terry Gilliam, David Simon, Knut Hamsun, Michel Faber, Charles Bukowski, Gil Scott-Heron, Margaret Atwood, Noel Fielding, Miranda July, Shaun Usher, Simon Garfield, Olivia Laing, David Byrne, Ben Fountain, Richard Rogers, Alasdair Gray, JJ Abrams, David Shrigley, Rebecca Solnit and Geoff Dyer.  As well as publishing a diverse range of exceptional writers, Canongate prides itself on the quality of its production and design for which it has won numerous awards - www.canongate.tv

About SunnyMarch

SunnyMarch was founded when internationally acclaimed actor Benedict Cumberbatch joined forces with producers Adam Ackland and Adam Selves to develop innovative scripted and non-scripted content for both the small and big screen. SunnyMarch recently announced “The War Magician” feature with StudioCanal. The War Magician tells the story of Jasper Maskelyne, the magician whose illusions helped the allied forces fight the Nazis during World War II.


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March 12, 2016 11:42am ET by Murray Chalmers PR   Comments (0)

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