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'Astonishing' Lenny Henry takes his Moor to West End
Louise Jury24.04.09
Lenny Henry is to make his West End theatrical debut as Othello.
The comedian will come into London in one of the most demanding parts in Shakespeare, in a production that has enjoyed a sell-out regional tour.
His ambitious move into Shakespeare from stand-up comedy and panto has produced largely admiring reviews rather than knock-out acclaim.
But Charles Spencer in the Daily Telegraph described it as "one of the most astonishing debuts in Shakespeare I have ever seen".
And anyone in London unable to catch him at the Rose in Kingston where he is playing until tomorrow will now get the chance to decide for themselves.
The production will have a three-month run at the Trafalgar Studios from 11 September to 12 December.
When the casting was announced Henry, 50, said he had been turning down Shakespearean roles for years, but the part had "always been on my radar".
Then he graduated with a BA in English Literature from the Open University and met Barrie Rutter, from the Northern Broadsides theatre company in West Yorkshire, while making a Radio 4 programme on Shakespeare.
Rutter offered him the role in a production conceived in his company's typically robust and popular style. The show is a co-production with the West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds.
