Tonight, I went
to see Letters Live at the Freemasons’ Hall for the second year running; an
experience that was as moving, amusing and enriching as it was last time around
(by which I mean it was).
It was great to hear correspondence from people from so many walks of life, and to once again be reminded of how we’re all much the same beneath the surface. Like last year’s show, it was the actors of the company that brought the readings to life the most; breathing truth and sincerity into the thoughts locked behind the words on the page. Yet again, it was an impressive line-up, including Jude Law, Benedict Cumberbatch, Rory Bremner, Juliet Stevenson, Timothy Carlton, Matt Berry and more. The audience were clearly impressed by the celebrity-heavy cast, yet this didn’t steal the thunder from the real stars of the evening: the writers whose lives we took a privileged peek into tonight.
The most impressive star-turn of the night for me was the person providing the off-stage narration between each reading, who I would have sworn was Leslie Crowther, if it weren’t for the fact he died in 1996. I spent much of last year’s show trying to place the owner of this disembodied voice, before realising I was thinking of Stars in Their Eyes’ original helmsmen; it’s when you can bring people back from the grave that you know your event has a serious pull. Impressive stuff.
It was great to hear correspondence from people from so many walks of life, and to once again be reminded of how we’re all much the same beneath the surface. Like last year’s show, it was the actors of the company that brought the readings to life the most; breathing truth and sincerity into the thoughts locked behind the words on the page. Yet again, it was an impressive line-up, including Jude Law, Benedict Cumberbatch, Rory Bremner, Juliet Stevenson, Timothy Carlton, Matt Berry and more. The audience were clearly impressed by the celebrity-heavy cast, yet this didn’t steal the thunder from the real stars of the evening: the writers whose lives we took a privileged peek into tonight.
The most impressive star-turn of the night for me was the person providing the off-stage narration between each reading, who I would have sworn was Leslie Crowther, if it weren’t for the fact he died in 1996. I spent much of last year’s show trying to place the owner of this disembodied voice, before realising I was thinking of Stars in Their Eyes’ original helmsmen; it’s when you can bring people back from the grave that you know your event has a serious pull. Impressive stuff.