The Commonwealth – has it had its day? | Letters
Alison Watson, David Howell of the Royal Commonwealth Society and Richard Bourne respond to articles by Philip Murphy of the Institute of Commonwealth Studies and Ian JackPhilip Murphy suggests that...
View ArticleHayley Atwell to star in BBC series of Andrea Levy's The Long Song
Tamara Lawrance and Lenny Henry will also appear in series on last days of slavery in JamaicaHayley Atwell and Sir Lenny Henry will star in a TV adaptation of Andrea Levy’s bestselling novel The Long...
View ArticleLabour and Prince Charles vow to support creativity in schools
Artists and politicians at Royal Albert Hall event voice concerns over slide of arts in schoolsLabour has pledged to put “creativity at the heart of the school curriculum” in a series of policy...
View ArticleLenny Henry: 'Classical music belongs to us all. Just look at Samuel...
The performer salutes the black British classical composer whose work inspired him to unpack the stereotypes often associated with the genreI never let myself forget that I’m really lucky in my work to...
View ArticleLenny Henry: ‘There were black Georgians and Tudors. Where are their stories?’
Actor predicts ‘moment of change’ at launch of Long Song TV adaptationThe British film and television industry is on the brink of a significant “moment of change” that will be driven by women, black...
View ArticleMy Windrush TV series is personal, says Kwame Kwei-Armah
Director says BBC Four’s Soon Gone, the saga of a Caribbean family’s life after arriving in Britain, is a tribute to his parentsA long-held wish to bring the story of the Windrush generation and its...
View ArticleLenny Henry on his Windrush series: 'We felt the sting of injustice sharply'
A new BBC drama follows generation Windrush, from first arrival to the scandal of deportation. Executive producer and star Sir Lenny Henry explains why their story needed to be toldLast year the nation...
View ArticleWarehouse wonders: Josie Rourke at the Donmar – in pictures
As the artistic director prepares to leave the Donmar Warehouse, we look back over her reign – from City of Angels to the Shakespeare Trilogy Continue reading...
View ArticleTV tonight: Lenny Henry on 50 years of the bold, visionary Open University
An utterly compelling history of the OU, plus Jill Dando: The 20 Year Mystery and more from feisty legal show The Good Fight. Here’s what to watch tonightActor, comedian and OU graduate Lenny Henry...
View ArticleBobby the banged-up bank robber steals the show – Happy Birthday OU review
From school drop-outs to prison swots, the Open University has educated all-comers for 50 years, posting out flatpacks that would make Ikea blush. Pity the BBC threw this party for itself, not them‘A...
View ArticleKing Hedley II review – Lenny Henry and Aaron Pierre make a dynamic duo
Theatre Royal Stratford East, LondonAugust Wilson’s overheated story of an ex-con attempting to rebuild his life is buoyed by an energetic cast with meaty rolesThe parts are sometimes bigger than the...
View ArticleThe week in theatre: King Hedley II; Rutherford and Son; The Starry Messenger...
Royal Theatre Stratford East; Lyttelton; Wyndham’s, LondonLenny Henry and Aaron Pierre are supercharged in August Wilson’s epic while Roger Allam excels as a stern Edwardian patriarchAugust Wilson had...
View ArticleProminent Britons of colour condemn BBC over Naga Munchetty complaint
Corporation accused of racial discrimination after presenter reprimanded for Trump remarks‘You can’t be impartial about racism’ – open letter to BBCMore than 40 prominent broadcasters, celebrities and...
View ArticleThe 10 biggest books of autumn 2019
Over 400 hardbacks hit shops today, including Zadie Smith’s Grand Union and Philip Pullman’s The Secret Commonwealth, on what publishers have dubbed Super ThursdayMore than 400 new hardbacks hit...
View ArticleWho Am I Again? by Lenny Henry review – a raw, touching memoir
The comic reflects on prejudice, being a ‘political football’ and his suspicion he’s neither black enough nor manly enoughIt was the way Lenny Henry told them. In the 1970s he would say to audiences:...
View ArticleTV tonight: Lenny Henry on blackface and Britain's multicultural comedy
The actor and standup explores the roles of people of colour on screen, starting with sitcoms. Plus: can Michelin-starred chefs recreate a Whopper? Here’s what to watch this eveningLenny Henry has...
View ArticleLenny Henry’s Race Through Comedy review – Britain's blackface shame
Henry revisits half a century of multicultural sitcoms, from the good to the bad and the truly stomach-churning Oh, the horrors a dig through our country’s black cultural archives can unearth. How’s...
View ArticleLenny Henry: 'I wish somebody had taught me how to defend myself'
The comedian’s childhood was defined by racist abuse and his mother’s violence. As he publishes his autobiography, he talks about how it shaped him as a performer and activist“I’m fascinated by it....
View ArticleWho Am I, Again? by Lenny Henry review – a cry of existential angst
Lenny Henry is heartfelt and contrite about pandering to bigotry as a young comic“Lenny Henry owes me an apology,’’ said a black friend recently. “For all those years when he told unfunny jokes against...
View ArticleLenny Henry review – clips, gossip and a night of self-congratulation
Watford ColosseumThe comedian has his buddy Jon Canter tee up one big-name anecdote after another in a cosy night that pays tribute … to himselfAt one point in his touring show, Lenny Henry recalls a...
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