Lenny Henry News

The anniversary of both Esther Rolle's birth and death are in November, and to celebrate the achievements of this amazing woman, who is also buried in Pompano Beach, The Rock Road Restoration Historical Group will present a special exhibit at The Historic Ali Cultural Arts Center (www.aliarts.org), which will run from November 1 through December 2, 2017.

A ripping revival of Denise Deegan's Olivier Award-winning, festive heart-warmer Daisy Pulls It Off is set to wrap up Park Theatre's 2017 season. This affectionate parody of 1920s boarding schoolgirl novels, directed by Paulette Randall MBE, will feature a truly diverse ensemble cast.

Presented for the first time since its world premiere in 1958 and celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the Sexual Offences Act of 1967 which decriminalised homosexuality in the UK, Quaint Honour by Roger Gellert runs at the Finborough Theatre, playing Sunday and Monday evening and Tuesday matinees from Sunday, 29 October 2017.

HighTide have announced the full comedy lineup for the London leg of the festival which arrives in Walthamstow for the very first time tomorrow.

Print Room at the Coronet welcomes the London transfer of Alice Childress' Trouble in Mind.

Whew - what a night out! Rorschach Theatre's revival of their 2013 production of Neverwhere, Neil Gaiman's fantasy novel, features a fine roster of new and returning players, and is a perfect night out for adventurous families-especially those with restless older kids.

MGC and Headlong today announce that Olivier Award-winning actress Tamsin Greig will now play Jean Whittaker opposite Martin Freeman as David Lyons in the world premiere of James Graham's Labour of Love.

Today, Print Room at the Coronet announced the full cast for the London transfer of Alice Childress' Trouble in Mind.

The Arcola Theatre recently announced its new Summer/Autumn Season.

Northern Broadsides today announced that their founder and artistic director Barrie Rutter OBE will step down in April 2018 after leading the company for twenty-five years.

Following her widely acclaimed appearance at Theatre Royal Bath last year, Olivier Award nominated Tanya Moodie will return to Laurence Boswell's production of Trouble in Mind when it premieres in London this September.

The Arcola Theatre has announced its new Summer/Autumn Season.

The Donmar Warehouse announces today two new plays for the 2017 autumn period.  Internationally-acclaimed theatre artist, Yael Farber, makes her Donmar debut directing David Harrower's haunting Knives in Hens with full casting that includes Christian Cook, Judith Roddy and Matt Ryan.  This will be the play's first major London revival since its premiere in 1995, when it instantly established Harrower as one of the UK's leading playwrights. 

In a new production commissioned by the Finborough Theatre and continuing their rediscovery of James Bridie, one of the West End's most successful dramatists of the 1930s and 1940s, the first London production since its 1950 premiere of Mr Gillie runs at the Finborough Theatre, playing Sunday and Monday evenings and Tuesday matinees from Sunday, 25 June 2017 (Press Night: Monday, 26 June 2017 at 7.30pm).

The Donmar Warehouse today announces full casting for The Public Administration and Constitution Affairs Committee Take Oral Evidence on Whitehall's Relationship with Kids Company a new musical with music by Tom Deering, and book and lyrics by Hadley Fraser and Josie Rourke.   

Written by Bertolt Brecht during World War II, The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui serves as a parable for Adolf Hitler. Germany becomes Chicago, Hitler becomes gangster Arturo Ui, as we witness his sociopathic rise. Today, this play proves 'all too current'. Immersive, Simon Evans' production breaks down the fourth wall as the titular character endeavours to build one up.

Bruce Norris' new translation of Bertolt Brecht's satirical masterpiece The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui is directed by Simon Evans with design by Peter McKintosh. Lenny Henry will make his Donmar debut as Arturo Ui and is joined by Michael Pennington, who recently played the title role in King Lear at the Royal & Derngate Northampton, as Dogsborough. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast onstage below!

London is never short of theatre temptations, whether splashy West End shows, epic dramas or bold fringe offerings. From new takes on Brecht and Buchner to Jez Butterworth's latest and a classic musical, here are some of this month's most eye-catching openings. Don't forget to check back for BroadwayWorld's reviews…

It was announced today that artistic director of Graeae (the UK's leading disabled led theatre company), Jenny Sealey MBE and acclaimed theatre director and associate director of the 2012 London Olympics opening ceremony, Paulette Randall MBE will join former James Bond Pierce Brosnan OBE and The Kumars at No 42 star Sanjeev Bhaskar OBE as patrons of the legendary South London arts centre Ovalhouse. Together they will front the campaign to raise funds for the venue's new home in Brixton, which is expected to open in 2019.

Chicago! A city of jazz and gangsters, prohibition and poverty. Amongst the murk of the Great Depression, there's room for a small time crook like Arturo Ui to make a name for himself.