Pre-sale tickets for charity literacy festival’s 10th anniversary event available now
The Letters Live event is turning 10 and is pushing the love and importance of writing cards and letters as hard as ever, with pre-sale tickets for this year’s readings led by screen favourite Benedict Cumberbatch already on sale.
As its name suggests, the event sees celebrities reading out original historic letters and, for the fourth year running, Letters Live will be at London’s Royal Albert Hall where the 2022 event involved a greeting card from Hieronymus being placed on every seat inviting people to use to send on their hand-written legacy.
Previous shows have seen celebrities including Gillian Anderson, Olivia Colman, Taika Waititi, Thom Yorke, Emma Corrin, Cynthia Erivo, Jude Law, Florence Welch and Laura Mvula grace the stage with Benedict, and pre-sale tickets for the 16 November show are already available here with the code LETTERSLL23 giving access.
Launched in 2013 by Jamie Byng, ceo of Canongate Books, to celebrate the release of Shaun Usher’s Letters Of Note and Simon Garfield’s To The Letter, Benedict is a co-producer of the event that raises money for literacy charities and to promote literacy as well as supporting refugee charity Choose Love.
Now a joint venture between Canongate, SunnyMarch and Shaun Usher, Letters Live has staged over 50 shows around the world, featuring over 300 world-class performers as the idea of famous people reading out a variety of letters sourced by Shaun has grown while the simple concept still highlights excellent performances, as well as the power that letters and cards can hold.
Zurich-based greeting card and stationery retailer Hieronymus provided the cards left on every seat at the venue last year, which invited recipients to fill it with “personal handwritten lines” and “spread words of gratitude, optimism or simply appreciation for others” to loved ones.
For 2023, Letters Live has announced a partnership with luxury pen company Montblanc, which has its origins in writing culture.
Jamie said: “It’s very exciting to be teaming up with Montblanc as all of us at Letters Live are confident that by doing so we will be able to further our global ambitions for this venture that is so close to our hearts.
“We believe passionately in Letters Live and its ability to connect with diverse audiences around the world and to deliver powerful performances that leave an indelible mark on anyone who experiences them. Working closely with Montblanc will only add to the impact we can make and enhance the support we can give to charities.”
Top: Letters Live has a star-studded line-up of readers
