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Shakespeare For Every Day of the Year
by Gingersnap | damian-lewis.com | April 15, 2024
Want to listen to Damian narrate Shakespeare right into your earbuds? You can now listen to Shakespeare for Every Day of the Year on both UK and US Spotify. Allie Esiri’s beautiful book features a perfect piece of topical Shakespeare for every day of the year, whether it be a sonnet, soliloquy, extract from a narrative poem or play, or a quote. Full cast of narrators are: Allie Esiri, Ben Allen, Damian Lewis, Hattie Morahan, Helen McCrory, Jade Anouka, Jot Davies, Paapa Essiedu and Sir Simon Russell Beale. Enjoy!
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365 Poems for Life: An Uplifting Collection For Every Day of the Year
by Katie Fraser | The Bookseller | October 5, 2023
Bluebird Books, an imprint of Pan Macmillan, will launch Allie Esiri’s 365 Poems for Life: An Uplifting Collection For Every Day of the Year, Esiri’s first anthology of poetry for adults, with readings from actors Helena Bonham Carter and Damian Lewis.
Publication on 5th October, National Poetry Day, will be supported with readings of Matthew Hollis’ “The Blackbird of Spitalfields”, Emily Dickinson’s “Hope is the Thing with Feathers” and Danusha Laméris’ “Small Kindnesses” by actors Bonham Carter and Lewis.
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Remembering Helen
by Gingersnap | damian-lewis.com | May 20, 2022
According to a tweet by theatre critic Dom Cavendish, Damian hosted a memorial service at St. Paul’s Church, Covent Garden (aka The Actors’ Church) in London on Friday, May 20, 2022, to celebrate Helen McCrory’s life and her formidable personality. There was laughter, tears and a standing ovation in Helen’s honor. Attendees included Helena Bonham Carter, Allie Esiri, Ralph Fiennes, Benedict Cumberbatch, Eddie Redmayne, Natascha McElhone, Bob Geldoff, Rory Kinnear, Mark Strong, Joe Cole, Finn Cole, Matthew Macfadyen and Keeley Hawesdeath. Mark Strong led the tributes as the actor who had worked with Helen more than almost any other actor, appearing in seven different films, shows and plays together. Damian and Helen’s daughter Manon, 15, delivered a touching reading and son Gulliver, 14, played the guitar for guests at the ceremony.
You can see part of the event programme from Mr. Cavendish’s tweet below. Bob Dylan’s To Be Alone with You was featured and a film titled In Her Own Words played. One cannot help remember that Helen chose To Be Alone with You as one of her favorite tunes during a recent segment of Desert Island Discs and she added that she had a blank check from Damian to run away with Bob Dylan. A close friend who attended the memorial service said, “It was just the most beautiful memorial. It was very touching. Speechless.”
View images of memorial service attendees in our Gallery here.
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Cast Afterparty
by Gingersnap | damian-lewis.com | May 3, 2022
L to R: Allie Esiri, Damian Lewis, Sue Latimer, Helena Bonham Carter
Media outlets are claiming it was a hit and fans feel honored to have witnessed it, so why not continue the celebrations of Sondheim’s Old Friends gala with an afterparty! After their performances, stars of the stage gathered at The Prince of Wales Theatre in Leicester Square, London, on May 3, 2022 for a little adult-cocktailing to salute the memorable event in aid of the Stephen Sondheim Foundation. View more photos of the afterparty in our Gallery here.
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Damian Will Read Poetry at Hay Festival 2022
by Damianista | damian-lewis.com | April 5, 2022
UPDATE May 28, 2022 – Damian is no longer part of the line-up due to conflict in scheduling.
The Hay Festival is coming back as an in-person event for the first time in three years! This is the 35th spring edition of the festival in Hay-on-Wye. They have announced their 2022 spring line-up with more than 500 in-person events and there will be a feast of talks, music, comedy, lectures, poetry and more from Thursday, May 26 to Sunday, June 5.
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Cheltenham Literature Festival Revisited
by Andrew Holgate | The Sunday Times | October 9, 2021
There have been some great Cheltenham Literature Festival moments over the years – Hilary Clinton in 2017, looking back on her presidential defeat the year before; a 92-year-old David Attenborough charming the audience in 2018. But surely one of the most electric hours in the festival’s history came in 2014, with the appearance on stage of the married couple Damian Lewis and Helen McCrory.
Here consists of a recording that was thought to have been lost, an electric performance at the 2014 Times and Sunday Times Cheltenham Literature Festival – one of the most memorable in the festival’s history – by Damian and Helen of love poems from the poetry collection The Love Book edited by Allie Esiri.
Earlier this summer, Damian rediscovered a recording of the event, which he offers here now to listeners as a tribute to his wife. To hear the recording in full, click here.
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Turning to Poetry in Times of Need
by Gingersnap | damian-lewis.com | March 22, 2020
Allie Esiri announced on Instagram that her poetry app, The Love Book, would be free indefinitely. She wrote,
“In case helpful, we have made The Love Book poetry app free, indefinitely. Many people turn to poetry in times of need and here there are many poems with over seventy read aloud by leading actors Tom Hiddleston, Helena Bonham Carter, Damian Lewis, Helen McCrory, Emma Watson, and Gina Bellman. You can read, listen, even record your own one and share it. Send a recording to your granny; help with homeschool. Plenty of poems about love to send to a friend, lover, mother.”
Download the interactive literary app from the Apple Store for iOS and Android devices.
An evening of poetry inspired by the great city of London was read by Damian, Helen, Mona Arishi, Theresa Lola, Yomi Sode and OnSide young poets in support of the Lord Mayor’s Appeal for Samaritans helpline, OnSide Youth Zones, and Place2Be, investing in youth and children’s mental health. The event was held at the Mansion House on Tuesday, November 26, 2019 from 6:30-8:30 p.m.
View the rest of the photos from the event in our Gallery here
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A Night of Poems and Poets Inspired by the Great City of London
by Gingersnap | damian-lewis.com | October 8, 2019
The Lord Mayor’s Appeal will be hosting their first ever poetry night called Voices of London on Tuesday, November 26, 2019 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Join the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress for a night of inspirational poetry in the magnificent setting of the Mansion House in London.
The event is curated by Allie Esiri, Helen McCrory, and Kate Birch with a line-up of other celebrated (and secret) actors and vibrant contemporary poets performing work inspired by the great city of London, all in the effort to raise money to help support their charity partners OnSide Youth Zones, Place2Be, Samaritans, and Sir Hubert von Herkomer Arts Foundation.
And one of those secret actors is Damian! Both Helen and Damian are patrons/ambassadors of the Sir HvH Arts Foundation.
Seems like Damian will be in town from filming Billions in New York City only two days prior to this event – specifically, on November 24 since he will be co-hosting the Evening Standard Theatre Awards in London with Helen.
To book tickets and for more information about Voices of London, please visit Lord Mayor’s Appeal.org here. For questions about the event, please email events@thelordmayorsappeal.org or call 020 7332 1582. Standard tickets are £100 and under 26-year-old tickets are £50. Tickets include a champagne and canapé reception, poetry readings and fundraising raffle. Dress code: smart casual.
Stop Press: Damian Lewis will join Helen McCrory at this poetry night in aid of the Lord Mayor’s Fund. Do come! pic.twitter.com/H7PHDHOazr
We are extremely excited to be welcoming @lewis_damian and Helen McCrory to speak at our Voices of London event! Tickets are available now for an incredible evening at Mansion House! Call 02073321582 or book online at https://t.co/vqniTrLKSVpic.twitter.com/16Ap0PRCJg
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Shakespeare for Every Day of the Year
by Gingersnap | damian-lewis.com | September 16, 2019
We are delighted to announce that Damian and Helen will be joining Allie Esiri’s new compilation Shakespeare for Every Day of the Year‘s recorded audio book.
At this time, we are unsure if the couple will make an appearance to perform any live readings at upcoming events, but we will keep you informed as information is made available.
Two possible events remain this year: October 12 at Cheltenham Literature Festival and November 11 at National Theatre, London. For more information and tickets about Cheltenham, click here and for National Theatre, click here.
About the event: For the fourth year running, and following the success of A Poem for Every Night of the Year, A Poem for Every Day of the Year and Women Poets Through the Ages, Allie Esiri is back with a show based on her latest anthology; Shakespeare for Every Day of the Year.
It is a journey through a calendar year, highlighting key moments and dates with a sonnet, speech or scene taken from across all of Shakespeare’s works.
According to Pan Macmillan Publishers website, Shakespeare for Every Day of the Year will be published on September 19, 2019, along with an audio book. Fans can purchase the audio book to hear the couple recite one of Shakespeare’s works!
Here is Damian reading an extract from Macbeth:
Today we're celebrating the audiobook of Shakespeare for Every Day of the year with this dazzling extract from Macbeth, read by the brilliant @lewis_damian and with introduction by @AllieEsiri.
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Poetry Love:Love Poetry
by Gingersnap | damian-lewis.com | April 28, 2019
Damian in the left background, Helen in foreground. Photo by @lisa_marie_malfoy
Damian and Helen were in attendance for Allie Esiri’s presentation of Women Poets Through the Ages on Sunday evening, April 28, 2019 at Bridge Theatre in London. The poetry curator Allie Esiri and special guest actors, Helena Bonham Carter, Pippa Bennett-Warner and Helen McCrory took the audience on a journey through the history of women’s writing, from Eneheduanna, the world’s first known poet, via Sappho, to the most powerful, illuminating and entertaining women’s writing of today including Maya Angelou and Carol Ann Duffy. The poems were taken from Allie Esiri’s hugely successful anthologies published by Macmillan – A Poem for Every Day of the Year and A Poem for Every Night of the Year.
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A Poem for Every Day of the Year
by Tristram Fane Saunders – The Telegraph – November 11, 2017
Our fave actor was present at the November 10 reading of Lewis Carroll’s The Walrus and the Carpenter as part of the unusually glitzy Olivier Theatre audience at the National Theatre launch of well-connected editor Allie Esiri’s new anthology A Poem for Every Day of the Year.
The book is aimed squarely at young readers, but last night’s crowd seemed to contain fewer children than celebrities. Each arrival prompted a chorus of whispers.
Oh look, there’s Damian Lewis! Is that Esiri’s old chum Helena Bonham-Carter? Oh dear, it’s David Cameron.
Afterparty Sam West, Stephen Mangan and Damian Lewis. Source: Twitter @AllieEsiri
And it seems another Helen was the reason Damian made an appearance at the event. Helen McCrory and Howards End star Samuel West kept things sharp and understated to great effect.
Afterparty Damian Lewis, Allie Esiri and Helen McCrory. Source: Twitter @AllieEsiri
An inspiring evening of readings of some of the magical and humorous poems in this journey through history and human experience were read by actors Adjoa Andoh, Joanna Lumley, Stephen Mangan, Helen McCrory, Simon Russell Beale and Samuel West. Here is Refugee Blues:
Read the rest of the original article at The Telegraph
L to R: Allie Esiri, Damian Lewis, Sue Latimer, Helena Bonham Carter
