'A letter is a private thing' says the British actor Sanjeev Bhaskar. “When you’re reading a letter, you hear the other person’s private voice. So, if you read it out loud, you’re speaking in their voice, their private voice. But if you’re reading it in front of an audience, it’s for the audience, too. So the whole thing is both public and private. It’s not as simple as you think.”
Welcome to Letters Live, where stars read funny, moving and sometimes surprising letters of note on stage. Well, welcome to back stage at Letters Live at the Royal Albert Hall. We’re in the Artists’ Bar in the basement, where various famous people, mostly actors, are preparing to read out letters – some funny, some touching – in front of an audience of 5,000 people. Tonight is the 10th anniversary of Letters Live, a birthday celebration. There’s a table with nibbles, a bar with cocktails and the vibe is friendly and collaborative. In the corner, there’s an artist drawing pictures; someone from a whisky company is offering engraved bottles to the celebrities for them to take home. Everything, and everyone, seems relaxed.
Still, as Bhaskar points out, the actors’ job tonight is not as simple as it might seem. I’d insisted it was a doddle, surely: no learning of lines, no cameras, no walking and talking. Just stand in front of a lectern and read a
