FAMILY MATINEE ON 12TH MARCH LINE UP CONFIRMED TODAY AS IAN MCKELLEN, RUSSELL BRAND, BLUE PETER’S LINDSEY RUSSELL, JULIA DONALDSON, ELLIE BAMBER, SANJEEV BHASKAR AND SAMANTHA BOND
FURTHER NAMES TO BE ANNOUNCED IN DUE COURSE – TICKETS ARE ON SALE NOW
Today, Letters Live announces that Bob Geldof, Jimmy Carr, Shappi Khorsandi, Peter Capaldi, David Nicholls and Maureen Lipmann will join the star-studded cast of performers for Letters Live at London’s Freemasons’ Hall from 10-15th March. Many more names for Letters Live, the live celebration of written correspondence, are yet to be announced however each show’s line up will remain a secret until the night itself. Names also confirmed for the residency include Benedict Cumberbatch, Gillian Anderson, Olivia Colman, Caitlin Moran, Jude Law, Russell Brand, Ian McKellen and many, many more.
On Saturday 12th March, Letters Live will launch their inaugural family matinee, bringing the joy of Letters Live to those of all ages. The line up for the Letters Live family matinee is today confirmed as: Ian McKellen, Russell Brand, Blue Peter’s Lindsey Russell, Julia Donaldson, Ellie Bamber, Sanjeev Bhaskar and Samantha Bond. Tickets are on sale now 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 live celebration of the enduring power of literary correspondence. Each show always features a completely different array of great performers, reading remarkable letters written over the centuries and from around the world.
Following a sell out run at Freemasons Hall in 2015, Letters Live returns in 2016 with six evening shows and a family matinee on Saturday 12th March. 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 Freemason’s 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. This year’s shows promise to be just as emotive, diverse and surprising.
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 school’s 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.