Stars of London’s popular productions will be among the storytellers, celebrities and authors encouraging families to Get Reading at a free London festival this summer.
Billy Elliot The Musical, The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time and War Horse will all be taking time out to support the Get Reading event, which will be held in Trafalgar Square on 13 July.
The one day readathon is part of the London Evening Standard’s Get London Reading campaign, which aims to help children who struggle with literacy. Since launching in June 2011, the campaign has already helped 2,000 of the capital’s youngsters improve and mobilised hundreds of Londoners to volunteer their time to reading with children.
Speaking about the event, which is staged by the free London newspaper alongside eReader manufacturer Nook, Niamh Cusack (pictured above with Curious Incident co-star Luke Treadaway), said: “Every child has the right to basic reading skills and the Get Reading event is a fabulous way to highlight the fact that not all children are leaving school with these basic needs. I am so happy to support this campaign and I’m sure it will have a significant impact on children’s lives.”
The Get Reading festival will be the second time in the space of a month that London’s world-renowned shows have entertained crowds in Trafalgar Square, as it follows closely on the heels of West End LIVE, taking place on 22 and 23 June. The annual free extravaganza of live entertainment features many of London’s incredible productions performing live for around 500,000 people over the course of one amazing weekend.