Past event

Union Chapel, 2019

Date:
7-9 March 2019

On March 7th, 8th and 9th of 2019, Letters Live made its first outing of 2019 by returning to London’s iconic Union Chapel to once again bring letters to life.

 

Over the course of these three unique evenings, Letters Live brought a diverse array of world-class performers from the stage, screen, music, art and literary worlds to breathe life into correspondence from all walks of life, taking its audience on an emotional and unforgettable journey through time.

 

Since first taking to the pulpit at the Union Chapel in July 2017, Letters Live have sold out eight shows there and presented audiences with captivating performances from the likes of Olivia Colman, Colin Firth, Michael Palin, Helen McCrory, Jeremy Corbyn, Mariella Frostrup, Ade Edmondson, Rose McGowan, Benedict Cumberbatch, Nick Cave, Sharon Horgan, Taron Egerton, Damian Lewis, Zawe Ashton, Rob Brydon, Jarvis Cocker and many others.

Programme

Thursday, 7th March 2019

 

Andy Serkis

 
The cruelest of all animals

George Bernard Shaw to London Daily News

 
Let us become strangers again

DH Lawrence to Bertrand Russell

 
Surely this inverts the truth

Nicholas Boyle to FT

 

 

Benedict Cumberbatch

 
What gloomy tidings about the CRABS

Patrick Leigh Fermor to Erica Soma

 
Shut up and listen

Rik Mayall to Mohamed Al-Fayed

 
The last mad Empire on earth

Dylan Thomas to Caitlin

 

 

Clarke Peters

 
The Last Hero

Kirk Douglas to Gary Cooper

 
May we meet in paradise

Theophane Venard to His Father

 

 

Clarke Peters and Shappi Khorsandi

 
Do scientists pray?

Albert Einstein to Phyllis

 

 

Edith Bowman

 
Who is Karen Carpenter

Kim Gordon to Karen Carpenter

 
How dare you

Aretha Franklin to Liz Smith

 

 

Helen McCrory

 
I am unable to accept your rejection at this time

Paula Devlin to Various Collegues

 
The Matchbox

Sylvia Townsend to Alyse Gregory

 

 

Helen McCrory and Louise Brealey

 
Christopher’s choking!

Karen A. to Dear Dolly

 

 

Julian Clary

 
Composer for nitwits

Erik Satie

 
I love you Jac

Bob Monkhouse to Jackie Monkhouse

 
She diddles all the time

John Newton to Abraham Lincoln

 

 

Juliet Stevenson

 
And that’s that

Edna st Vincent Millay to Norma Millay

 
She’ll simply change the rules

Patsy Davies to The Guardian

 
We are all minnows in life together

Martha Gallhorn to Diana Cooper

 

 

Louise Brealey

 
When Death Comes

Aidan Kingwell to Mary Oliver

 

 

Sanjeev Bhaskar

 
Strip down, facing me

Tony Capezza to The Lowell Sun

 

 

Sanjeev Bhaskar and Edith Bowman

 
I’ll never have any friends

Leonard Nimoy to F.C.

 

 

Shappi Khorsandi

 
Speak the truth and shame the devil

Madonna to David Letterman

 

 

Stephen Mangan

 
The Caribbean Airline

Arthur Hicks to Airline

 
Cease and desist

The Beano to Jacob Rees Mogg

 
The Cat Ranch

Jack Lemmon to Walter Matthau

 

 

Toby Jones

 
Roald Dahl – Strength through joy
 
You ignorant freak

Hunter S. Thompson to Dave Allen

 
Abortion is a terrifying thing

Italo Calvino to Claudio Magris

 

Friday, 8th March 2019

 

Adrian Edmnondson and Olivia Colman

 
You Babylonian scullion

Mehmed IV to Zaporozhian Cossacks

 
 

Adrian Edmondson

 
Two fingers to you

Mike Harding to Theresa May

 
I do hope she is all right

Gerald Vinestock to The Times

 
Has anybody got a light

Andy Roberts to Ade Edmondson

 

 

Benedict Cumberbatch

 
There is no danger down here

Wildred Owen to Susan Owen

 

 

Benedict Cumberbatch and Louise Brealey

 
My Dear Bessie

Chris Barker to Bessie Moore

 

 

Elif Shafak

 
Europe is home

Various to The Times

 
This is not a letter

Katherine Mansfield to Leslie Beauchamp

 
 

Felicity Jones

 
And now I must dress to receive the planets, dear

Willa Cather to Edith Lewis And now I must dress to receive the planets, dear

 
I can only do what feels right

Emma Thompson to SkyDance

 

 

John Bishop

 
Yours with real concern

Graham Chapman to The Bank

 
The dearest daughter a man could have

Cary Grant to His Daughter

 

 

John Simm

 
I’m confused

Iain Rowan to the Guardian

 
This would make him mine

JOhn Steinback to Marlyn Monroe

 

 

Louise Brealey

 
Really, Mr. Walpole!

Rebecca West to Hugh Walpole

 
I shall always be with you

Milada Horakova to her daughter

 

 

Meera Syal

 
The parakeet has a goiter

Brian Doyle to Various

 
Know that you are loved

Dorothy Freeman to Rachel Carson

 

 

Olivia Colman

 
Don’t forget, dear

Queen Victoria to Princess Victoria

 
Enough is enough

Marguerite Louise D’orleans to Cosimo III De Medici

 

 

Stephen Campbell Moore

 
I hate everybody

Spike Milligan to Pres of Cambridge Union

 
Dear Principal

Concerned Parent to School

 

Saturday, 9th March 2019

 

Benedict Cumberbatch

 
Ladies and Gentleman of A.D. 2088

Kurt Vonnegut to 2088

 
Five accidents in two minutes

Fred Allen to State of NY Insurance dept.

 
If you are to be, be the first

Yuri Gagarin to Family

 

 

Denise Gough

 
Dear Daughters

Patton Quinn to Her Daughter

 

 

Fatima Bhutto

 
Be brave, and the rest will follow

Jawaharlal Nehru to Daughter

 

 

Introduced by Benedict Cumberbatch on stage: Anna Taylor and Ivi Hoffman

 
We, the young

Student Activist

 

 

Jordan Stephens

 
Music is made out of necessity

Prince to Tom Moon

 
P.S. This is my favorite memo ever

Matt Stone to MPAA

 

 

Jordan Stephens and Benedict Cumberbatch

 
Blow ’em away, kid

Nick Cave to Ptolemy

 

 

Juliet Stevenson

 
Dame of what?

Dorris Lessing to Alex Allan

 
I cannot do less

Simone de Beauvoir to Nelson Algren

 
Tell them you have written to me

Margaret Thatcher to A Young Girl

 

 

Katherine Ryan

 
That’s Deadwood for you

Calamity Jane to Her Daughter

 
You are an inspiration

Melissa Rivers to Joan Rivers

 

 

Lesley Manville

 
Out of all this came happiness

Diana Athill to Bibi Lynch

 
I know, Mother, I know

Anne Sexton to Linda Sexton

 

 

Lesley Manville and Denise Gough

 
Christopher’s choking!

Karen A to Dear Dolly

 

 

Niamh McGrady

 
I’m in love with NY

Anais Nin to Henry Miller

 

 

Niamh McGrady and Jordan Stephenson

 
Dear Friend

Hermione Gingold to A Friend

 

 

Niamh McGrady and Tom Odell

 
I write for myself

A Concerned Parent to Green Day

 

 

Noel Fielding

 
How beautiful!

Salvador Dali to Frederico Garcia Lorca

 
You know who you are (Daft Punk complaint)

Australian Man to His Neighbour

 
Surely this inverts the truth

Nicholas Boyle to FT

 

 

Noel Fielding and Katherine Ryan

 
I admire your balls

Hunter S. Thomson to Carrie Neftzeger

 

 

Thom Yorke

 
What do you want from life?

David Lavelle to The Telegraph

 
Maybe we should ban suits

Henry Stewart to the Guardian