Tom Hiddleston leads all-star lineup at London charity poetry evening

Tom Hiddleston has led a star-studded cast of actors for an evening of poetry at the National Theatre in an effort to raise money for Ukraine.

The event on Friday evening featured famous faces including Sex Education star Asa Butterfield, and raised funds for the Disaster Emergency Committee’s (DEC) Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal.

Gangs Of London star Sope Dirisu, King Lear actress Kate Fleetwood and Ukrainian actor Daria Plahtiy from Battle For Sevastopol completed the line-up.

Throughout the event illustrator Chris Riddell drew the performances live onstage.

Ahead of the event, she said: “Poetry can stop and make us think and feel, about love, loss, hope – and our shared experiences as humans.

“My hope is that the evening will be filled with as much laughter as tears, and that you will leave full of hope for the people of this war-torn nation.

“In return, we ask that you donate as generously as you can to the Ukraine appeal so that, in some small way at least, our words may become actions in the fight against oppression.”