Peter Capaldi and Matt Berry Perform a Fiery Reading of the ‘Reply of the Zaporozhian Cossacks’

During a 2016 Letters Live event, actors Peter Capaldi and Matt Berry performed a fiery reading of a written exchange between the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and the leader of the Zaporozhian Cossacks after a fierce battle had been fought. The Sultan (Berry) told the Cossack (Capaldi) to surrender and the Cossack unequivocally said no albeit in very colorful terms.

Possibly one of our favourite letter exchanges ever, and at London’s Freemasons’ Hall back… 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. This fiery exchange was the result.

Capaldi also performed a heartwrenching reading of a letter from WWI Captain Reginald John Armes to his wife Eleanor on the surprising Christmas Eve Truce of 1914.

On Christmas Eve of 1914, five months into World War I, something amazing happened: thousands of British and German troops on the Western Front decided to put down their weapons and greet each other peacefully. For the next few days, 100,000 men, British and German, chatted, exchanged gifts, sang carols, played football. They also, without fear, were able to buried their dead. On the evening of December 24th, the first day of the truce, Captain ‘Jack’ Armes wrote to his wife and described this incredible occurrence.

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. This fiery exchange was the result.