Irish playwright and critic George Bernard Shaw sent somewhere in the region of 250,000 letters and postcards during his lifetime, the majority in response to strangers seeking either advice, money, a photograph, an autograph, or Shaw’s presence at an event. Despite his hectic schedule, Shaw generously took time to personally turn down the vast majority, grumpily and with barely any tact.

Benedict Cumberbatch read just a few of Shaw's replies at Letters Live at the Royal Albert Hall in October 2022.