“How you would love it here” Joss Ackland reads his own letter to his future wife Rosemary (1951)

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• published: 17 Aug 2015
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http://letterslive.com/ Preceded and followed by the reading of an extract from Romeo and Juliet (Act II Scene II). Joss Ackland introduces the letter himself as he performs the reading for LETTERS LIVE on April 2nd, 2015 at Freemasons’ Hall. Joss Ackland is an English actor who appeared in more than 130 film and television roles. Ackland joined the Old Vic in 1957, appearing alongside other notable actors including Maggie Smith, Judi Dench and Tom Courtenay. Ackland's career advanced with parts in The Sicilian, Lethal Weapon 2, The Hunt for Red October and White Mischief. He worked opposite Alec Guinness in the 1979 television serial Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, playing sporting journalist and intermittent British espionage operative Jerry Westerby. Ackland has also appeared in Passion of Mind with Demi Moore and the two-part TV serial Hogfather based on Terry Pratchett's Discworld. He played C. S. Lewis in the television version of Shadowlands before it was adapted into a stage play starring Nigel Hawthorne and then a theatrical film with Anthony Hopkins in the same role. His stage roles included creating the role of Juan Perón in Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Evita opposite Elaine Paige. He also starred in the London production of Stephen Sondheim's and Hugh Wheeler's A Little Night Music with Jean Simmons and Hermione Gingold, performing on the RCA Victor original London cast album. In 2007, with his distinctive voice, Ackland narrated and provided the voice for the Robert Garofalo biography film/documentary on notorious Occultist Aleister Crowley, titled In Search of the Great Beast 666. In September 2013 Sir Jonathan Miller directed a Gala Performance of William Shakespeare's King Lear at the Old Vic in London. Ackland played Lear. In April 2015 Joss Ackland was invited to perform at LETTERS LIVE. LETTERS LIVE is a series of live events celebrating the power of literary correspondence. Inspired by Shaun Usher's Letters of Note, Letters Live is an initiative by publishing company Canongate and Benedict Cumberbatch’s production company SunnyMarch. It has become a phenomenon wherever is has played in the UK. The idea of LETTERS LIVE is simple: we ask talented, inspiring and high-profile artists from various disciplines to read letters out loud to our audiences. LETTERS LIVE celebrates letter writing and the art of correspondence first and foremost. For more videos, please visit our website http://letterslive.com/