Letters Live in support of the RNLI

ACT ONE

Alan Carr

I am left in quite the quandary

Joe Lycett to Mark Carne

Asim Chaudhry

Disregard this warning at your peril

Han Yu to Crocodiles

Geri Halliwell

All my life, I have belonged to no man

Flora Tristan to an admirer

Bella Ramsey

Take a breath now, you’re allowed

Bella Ramsey to Bella Ramsey

Adrian Lester

I’ll take care of that boy

Robert Peterson to Mr and Mrs Starks

Jameela Jamil

An instrument of joy

Margaret Mead to her sister

Benedict Cumberbatch

Your actions disturb and inspire, and I can’t look away

Ross Beeley to a fellow gym-goer

Grace Campbell

We connected that night!

Stephanie Pope to Adele

Lolly Adefope & Asim Chaudhry

The 12 days of Christmas

Emily to Edward

Jesse Buckley

Coupling is ridiculous, really

Lucia Berlin to Kenwood Elmslie

Chloe Zhao

I never imagined you would become a warrior

Xiao Hong to her brother

Matt Berry

I would rather die

Harold Pinter to Tom Stoppard

Louise Brealey

I know Mother, I know

Anne Sexton to Linda Sexton

Richard Ayoade

One rule for England captains…

Nick Jones to Viz

Ian Wright

That is not the way to play football

David Hickey to the Independent

Bella Ramsey

Help me catch our world

Jenny to Earth

ACT TWO

Ian McShane

Now her soul is free

Ram Dass to Steve and Anita Isser

Dr Martin Stephens

I owe you everything

Martin Stephens to the RNLI

Lolly Adefope

Mrs. Slob of 1961

Beatrice Maitland to the editor of Chatelaine magazine

Chris O’Dowd

The worst specimen

D. Blakey to Irish Lights

The beauty of things

Robinson Jeffers to Mary James

Jessie Buckley & Benedict Cumberbatch

See you soon, my magnificent one

Maria Casares and Albert Camus

Matt Berry

P.S.: This is my favourite memo ever

Matt Stone to the MPAA

Ian McShane

Christmas with all its ancient horrors

Raymond Chandler to Jamie Hamilton

Asim Chaudhry

Any better ideas?

Rodney Smith to the Guardian

Alan Carr

Have some carrots you cunt

Kenneth Williams to Eric Peel

Richard Ayoade

Damn the mail!

Franz Kafka to Felice Bauer

Louise Brealey

WE ARE BARELY HANGING ON

Julie Scagell to her son’s recorder

Adrian Lester

For your first Christmas

Walter Page to his grandson

Grace Campbell & Jameela Jamil

What should I do?

Frustrated to Abby

Ian Wright

I embrace you with all my heart

Albert Camus to Louis Germain

Benedict Cumberbatch

Ladies & Gentlemen of A.D. 2088

Kurt Vonnegut to the people of 2088

MUSIC

Jessie Ware

Say You Love Me

Anoushka Shankar
Stolen Moments

Hauschka

CREDITS

Ross Beeley to the gentleman in the gym locker room, © Ross Beeley
Lucia Berlin to Kenwood Elmslie, 9th September 2001 “Coupling is ridiculous, really”, used by permission of Curtis Brown, Ltd. Copyright © 2022. All Rights reserved

Albert Camus to Louis Germain, from: Albert Camus, Le Premier Homme, Gallimard-Jeunesse (2000) © Gallimard-Jeunesse and the Estate of Albert Camus
Maria Casarès to Albert Camus / Albert Camus to Maria Casarès, translated from: Correspondance (1944-1959) by Albert Camus and Maria Casarès, Editions Gallimard (2020) © Editions Gallimard, the Estate of Albert Camus and the Estate of Maria Casarès

Raymond Chandler to Jamie Hamilton, copyright © the Estate of Raymond Chandler. Reproduced by permission of the Estate c/o Rogers, Cloeridge & white Ltd., 1=20 Powis Mews, London W11 1JN
Ram Dass to Steve and Anita Isser, © Ram Dadd
Emily to Edward, from: John Julius Norwich, The Twelve Days of Christmas, Atlantic Books (2013) © John Julius Norwich. Reproduced with permission of the Licensor through PLSclear
David Hickey to the i-newspaper, © David Hickey
Xiao Hong to Brother, Translated from: https://tinyurl.com/2subhbz3 under CC-BY-SA https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en
Robinson Jeffers to Mary James, © Jeffers Literary Properties
Nick Jones to Viz, © Metropolis Publishing/Fulchester Industries
Franz Kafka to Felice, from: LETTERS TO FELICE by Franz Kafka, translated by James Stern and Elisabeth Duckworth. Used by permission of Schocken Books, an imprint of The Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. © Schocken Books, a division of Penguin Random House LLC.
Joe Lycett to Mark Carne, © Joe Lycett
Beatrice Maitland to Chatelaine magazine, © Chatelaine
Margaret Mead to her sister, © The Estate of Margaret Mead
Jenny Ngugi to The Earth, this letter is a part of the Letters to the Earth campaign, which began in 2019, when people around the world were invited to put pen to paper and write letters in response to the climate and ecological emergency. It is published in their book ‘Letters to the Earth: Writing to a Planet in Crisis’. © Jenny Ngugi
Robert Peterson to Mr and Mrs Starks, from “Life in these United States” column by Vincent Terrill, Reader’s Digest, May 1950, Copyright © by Trusted Media Brands, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Harold Pinter to Tom Stoppard, © the Estate of Howard Pinter
Stephanie Pope to Adele, © Stephanie Pope
Bella Ramsey to Bella Ramsey, © Bella Ramsey
Julie Scagell to her son’s recorder, © Julie Scagell
Anne Sexton to Linda Sexton, reprinted by permission of SLL/Sterling Lord Literistic, Inc. Copyright by Linda Gray Sexton
Rodney Smith to The Guardian, © Rodney Smith
Martin Stephen to the RNLI, © Martin Stephen
Matt Stone to MPAA, © Matt Stone
Flora Tristan to Charles Fillieu, 30th July 1843. ‘In all my life, I have belonged to no man’, from: ‘Dear Friend, You Must Change Your Life’: The Letters of Great Thinkers, A. Bronowski (ed.), Continuum (2020). Translated by Prof M.F. Cross from: Flora Tristan Lettres, Stéphane Michaud (ed.), Seuil (1980). © Professor Stéphane Michaud; translation © Professor Máire Cross
Kurt Vonnegut to the people of 2088, A Letter to the Next Generation’ Copyright © Kurt Vonnegut, 1988, used by permission of The Wylie Agency (UK) Limited
Kenneth Williams to Eric Peel, © the Estate of Kenneth Williams