Theatre

Lenny Henry Live at Babbacombe Theatre

Lenny Henry was born in Dudley, the son of parents who emigrated to England from Jamaica in the 1950s. He studied at Sledmere Primary School, Bluecoat Secondary Modern School, WR Tuson School, and Preston College. His earliest  television appearance was on the New Faces talent show in 1975 where he repeatedly won.

The following year he appeared in LWT’s sitcom The Fosters alongside Norman Beaton, Britain’s first comedy series with predominantly  black performers. His formative years were in working men’s clubs where his unique act — a young black man  impersonating white characters such as the Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em character Frank Spencer (whom he  impersonated on New Faces) — gave him an edge in what were racially divisive times.

He co-hosted the children’s programme Tiswas from 1978 until 1981, and subsequently performed and wrote for the show Three of a Kind, with comedians Tracey Ullman and David Copperfield. Around this time, he met his future wife,  Dawn French, who encouraged him to move over to the fledgling alternative comedy scene, where he established a  career as a stand-up comedy performer and character comedian. He introduced characters who both mocked and  celebrated black British culture, such as Theophilus P.

Wildebeeste (a Barry White-a-like), Brixton pirate radio disc jockey DJ Delbert Wilkins and Trevor MacDoughnut (a  parody of Trevor McDonald). His stand-up material, which sold well on LP, owed much to the writing abilities of Kim Fuller. During this time he also spent three years as a DJ on BBC Radio 1, playing cutting edge soul and electro tracks and introducing some of the characters that he would later popularise on television.

Lenny’s current tour ‘Where you From?’ With his new one-man show Lenny delivers an electrifying mix of stand-up and character comedy guaranteed to blow your socks off.

You have been warned! See Lenny Henry live at The Babbacombe Theatre, Torquay on Saturday 24th November 2007  For Tickets & Information Telephone: +44 (0) 1803 328385

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