Montblanc Fetes Letters Live 10th Anniversary With Celebrity Cast
PEN TO PAPER: Letters shape history — and people’s political and personal lives.
In 1527, King Henry VIII put ink to paper to write his future second wife, Anne Boleyn, telling her that he had “written with the hand of him who wishes he were yours.”
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Letters now have a place in museums and estate houses, as well as on stage.
On Thursday evening in London, Letters Live, the literary event that brings together celebrities and critically acclaimed writers to read letters to a live audience, celebrated its 10th anniversary at the Royal Albert Hall with a helping hand from Montblanc, the German luxury goods brand dedicated to writing instruments, as well as timepieces, leather goods, accessories, fragrances and eyewear.
A jam-packed audience at the concert hall listened, laughed, cried and clapped as letters were read aloud by Benedict Cumberbatch, Gillian Anderson, Olivia Colman, Minnie Driver, Stephen Fry, Will Sharpe and Woody Harrelson.
“It was only natural for Montblanc to unite with Letters Live, as both share an unwavering devotion to the written word and the influence it wields on individuals and communities. Montblanc’s very inception was rooted in a visionary concept — to transform the way people connect through the art of writing, and we are thrilled to extend this incredible legacy through our partnership, opening fresh avenues for people to rediscover the magic of words,” said Vincent Montalescot, chief marketing officer at Montblanc.
Cumberbatch, a coproducer of Letters Live, kicked off the evening with a letter by playwright and critic George Bernard Shaw to The Times of London from 1905.
Shaw wrote about of his evening at the Royal Opera House to watch a performance of “Don Giovanni,” which was disturbed by a woman wearing a “large white bird, which looked exactly if someone had killed it by stamping on the beast, and then nailed it to the lady’s temple.”
“I wore the costume imposed on me by the regulations of the house. I fully recognize the advantage of those regulations. Evening dress is cheap, simple, durable, prevents rivalry and extravagance on the part of male leaders of fashion,” he wrote.
Other famous letters in the lineup included Jackie Morris’ note to the BBC; one from Nina Simone to Andy Stroud, and Anaïs Nin’s message to The Collector, an anonymous collector that would pay a dollar a page for the erotic stories of Nin, Henry Miller and their group of friends.
Tom Odell, Angelique Kidjo, The Spirituals Choir and Kae Tempest performed musical and spoken-word numbers in between the letter readings.
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