Get ready to listen to JRR Tolkien’s “The Hobbit” as read by Andy Serkis. Who you may know as Gollum from the Lord of the Rings films. He will be reading the novel nonstop on a live stream on Friday, May 8th at 10am BST (5am EST, 2am PST). The entire reading will last about 12 hours from start to finish.
“So many of us are struggling in isolation during the lockdown. While times are tough, I want to take you on one of the greatest fantasy adventures ever written, a 12-hour armchair marathon across Middle-earth, while raising money for two amazing charities which are doing extraordinary work right now to help those most in need.”
He is doing the reading for a few charities. The money will be split between NHS Charities Together and Best Beginnings. Best Beginnings is a charity that works to support babies, toddlers, pregnant families and new parents and aims to reduce inequality, for over six years. NHS Charities Together is the umbrella organisation bringing together all the official charities of the health service.
He will be hosting the stream on his gofundme page where you can donate a small something and then be able to listen to him read the story. On the gofundme he states:
From an unexpected party to the last stage, join Bilbo and me on this tale of high adventure. Together we’ll face the might of the trolls, journey to the magical Rivendell, encounter the giant spiders in the labyrinths of Mirkwood, and the evil goblins living among the roots of the Misty Mountains, until we meet the dragon Smaug, and see the Battle of the Five Armies.
I will be announcing on this page how to live stream my Adventure so stay tuned and donate. If we hit our target of £100,000, there may be a special surprise later in our journey.
So follow that GoFundMe! And tune in for an epic adventure as read by Gollum.. I mean Andy Serkis! And be ready for some great character impressions. “My Precious”