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Published — 19 July 2026 ⏭ Letters Live

Best ever funny, moving letters about animals

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Extraordinary performers read letters about our furry (and not-so-furry) friends, from a letter to a beloved dog, to an ultimatum written to some very unruly crocodiles.

Featuring Asim Chaudhry, Andy Serkis, Benedict Cumberbatch, Louise Brealey, Alan Carr and Sue Perkins
Published — 9 July 2026 ⏭ Letters Live

Some of our all-time funniest letters

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From a tongue-in-cheek letter of recommendation to a truly disturbing Agony Aunt column submission, if you’re in need of a chuckle, this episode is for you.

Featuring Helen McCrory, Louise Brealey, Tony Robinson, Sara Pascoe, Olivia Colman, Michael Palin and Chiwetel Ejiofor.
Published — 24 June 2026 ⏭ Letters Live

Possibly the best love letters of all time

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From doomed (and rather funny) teenage declarations of affection to passionate letters between wartime lovers, this Letters Live episode gathers some of the most delightful love letters ever penned.

Featuring Taron Edgerton, Joanna Lumley, Asa Butterfield, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Benedict Cumberbatch, Louise Brealey and Rob Rinder.
Published — 12 June 2026 ⏭ Letters Live

Simon Pegg reads a letter of apology to penguins

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In 2004, Tony Cross decided it was time to apologise to a group who had, he felt, been quietly mischaracterised for too long.

At Letters Live on Earth Day 2026, in support of Greenpeace, Simon Pegg joined us to read this funny and poignant letter.

© Tony Cross, 2004
Published — 3 June 2026 ⏭ Letters Live

Tom Ellis reads a letter about a turbulent love affair

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When he wrote this remarkable letter to a friend in 1912, D. H. Lawrence was newly and turbulently in love with Frieda Weekley, a German author who had left her husband and children to be with him. Clearly, the pressure was unbearable for all involved. Two years later, Lawrence married Frieda. They remained together until his death.

Tom Ellis joined us to read this letter at Letters Live at The Town Hall, New York in May 2026.
Published — 27 May 2026 ⏭ Letters Live

Laurence Fishburne reads a stark warning from W. E. B. Du Bois

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As the Cold War deepened in 1953, celebrated writer and activist W.E.B. Du Bois wrote a letter to The Tribune newspaper and made his feelings known.

Laurence Fishburne joined to read this letter at Letters Live in New York City in May 2026.

Courtesy of The Du Bois Literary Estate, Odell Murry, Trustee. © the Du Bois Literary Estate
Published — 4 May 2026 ⏭ Letters Live

Tim Peake reads a father's letter to his astronaut son

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On April 9th, 1959, Malcolm Scott Carpenter was announced by NASA as being one of seven astronauts chosen for Project Mercury. At Cape Canaveral in Florida a year later, Carpenter boarded the Aurora 7 spacecraft and circled Earth three times. On the eve of his historic journey, Carpenter’s father, Marion, wrote him a letter.

None other than British astronaut Tim Peake joined us to read this poignant letter at an Earth Day edition of Letters Live in support of Greenpeace, at London's Royal Albert Hall.

© the Estate of M Scott Carpenter
Published — 29 April 2026 ⏭ Letters Live

Munya Chawawa reads a letter to God

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Munya Chawawa reads his own letter to God.

Munya joined us at a special Earth Day edition of Letters Live at London's Royal Albert Hall in support of Greenpeace in April 2026.

© Munya Chawawa, 2026
Published — 28 April 2026 ⏭ Letters Live

Bryan Cranston and Ferdinand Kingsley read a FEROCIOUS letter exchange

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This is one of our favourite all time letter exchanges for a reason, and we couldn't not share this particular performance with you all.

In 1675, the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire instructed his army to attack a fortress belonging to the Zaporozhian Cossacks. They were quickly and heavily defeated. Rather than surrender, the Sultan then wrote to the Cossacks and demanded that they submit to him.

Bryan Cranston and Ferdinand Kingsley joined us to read the hilarious exchange of letters between the two opposing forces at Letters Live in New York in June 2025.

Come and see us in NYC at The Town Hall, Midtown, Manhattan on May 14th 2026:
https://www.thetownhall.org/event/letters-live-2
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Published — 24 April 2026 ⏭ Letters Live

Benedict Cumberbatch reads a beautiful love letter

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Gerald Durrell and Lee McGeorge first met in 1977, when Durrell — already a celebrated naturalist and writer — was giving a lecture at Duke University, where she was studying animal behaviour. They quickly became close, and within two years were married. In 1978, not long after they met, Durrell wrote her a letter.

Benedict Cumberbatch read this beautiful letter to close our very special Earth Day show at the Royal Albert Hall in April 2026.

The show was in partnership with Vivobarefoot, and in support of Greenpeace.

© Gerald Durrell, with permission of Curtis Brown Group Ltd

Our lectern was adorned with long-lasting sculptural paper florals, created by Polly Green of @longlunch.studio: https://longlunch.studio
Published — 6 April 2026 ⏭ Letters Live

Alan Carr reads Kenneth Williams' hilarious letter about an alarming incident

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Anyone who has ever watched a Carry On film will be familiar with Kenneth Williams, a man whose voice and timing made him one of Britain’s great comic icons. In 1964, he wrote to a friend with news of an alarming incident.

Alan Carr opened our show at the Royal Albert Hall in November 2025 with this hysterical letter.

© the Estate of Kenneth Williams, by permission of United Agents
Published — 20 March 2026 ⏭ Letters Live

Marlon James reads Lee Scratch Perry's defence of Paul McCartney after he was arrested in Tokyo

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On January 16th of 1980, Japanese customs officials found 7.7 ounces of cannabis in Paul McCartney's luggage as he entered the country, resulting in a 10-day stay in a Tokyo prison and the cancellation of his tour of Japan with Wings.

After being released, McCartney was told never to return. Five days into his stay, reggae legend Lee "Scratch" Perry sent a letter to Tokyo's Minister of Justice in an effort lend his support.

Award-wining author Marlon James joined us to read this brilliant letter at Letters Live in New York City in June 2025.

© the Estate of Lee Perry
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