Othello - Lenny Henry makes West End debut
Preview by Lizzie Guilfoyle
FOLLOWING a successful regional tour, the Northern Broadsides and West Yorkshire Playhouse production of Othello, starring Lenny Henry in the title role, will transfer to Trafalgar Studios where it runs from September 18 (previews from September 11) to December 12, 2009.
Love, racism, jealousy and desire are at the emotional core of Shakespeare’s monumental tragedy, a tender love story shattered by one man’s obsessive hatred of another. Othello is noble, brave and victorious. Iago, passed over for a position in the army, fuels his diabolical revenge with hatred and snarling racism. Poignant, intense and heartbreaking, Othello mercilessly explores every inch of the human condition.
Although Henry’s career spans film, television, stage and radio, he will be making his West End debut in Othello. His numerous screen credits include The Lenny Henry Show, Lenny Henry In Pieces, Hope and Glory, The Delbert Wilkins Show, Three of a Kind and the documentaries Lenny’s Atlantic Adventure and Lenny’s Big Amazon Adventure (TV); True Identity, Live and Unleashed, Work Experience and the voice of Shrunken Head in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film).
Henry’s live performances include his one man shows Where you From?, So Much Things To Say, Have You Seen This Man, Large ’99 and Loud!.
Barrie Rutter directs a cast that also includes David Beckford (as Duke/Gratiano), Matt Connor (Roderigo), Andy Cryer (Montano), Victoria Gee (Bianca), Jessica Harris (Desdemona), Lenny Henry (Othello), Geoff Leesley (Brabantio), Conrad Nelson (Iago), Chris Pearse (Herald), Simon Holland Roberts (Senator/Lodovico), Sara Poyzer (Emilia) and Richard Standing (Cassio).
Formed in 1992 by Artistic Director Barrie Rutter, Northern Broadsides is a multi award-winning touring company based in the historic Dean Clough Mill in Halifax. Over the years, it has earned a reputation for performing Shakespeare and classical texts with an innovative, popular and regional style, often in unconventional locations. As well as the UK, it has toured to Europe, America, Brazil and India.
Rutter’s extensive credits for the company include Richard III, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Poetry or Bust, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Passion, Romeo and Juliet, Antony and Cleopatra, The Trackers of Oxyrhynchus, Twelfth Night, King Lear and The Mysteries.
Presented at Trafalgar Studios by Sonia Friedman Productions, Othello is designed by Ruari Murchison, with costume design by Stephen Snell, lighting by Guy Hoare and music by Broadsides’ regular Conrad Nelson.
Trafalgar Studios are participating in A Night Less Ordinary which provides free theatre tickets for the under 26s.
The Last Cigarette is currently previewing in Trafalgar Studio 1.
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Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? continues in Trafalgar Studio 2 until May 9, 2009.
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