Lenny Henry – Where You From?
The Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool
Sunday October 7 and on tour until December 11
Thirty-two years Lenny Henry has been around and in a world graced more often than not by the over-hyped and the plain unfunny, going to one off his shows is like stepping into a comfortable pair of slippers. You know more or less exactly what you’re going to get – two hours of anecdotes interspersed with sketches and impressions – but you don’t care. This is Lenny Henry and, when all is said and done, he’s funny. Okay, not rib-cracking and not riotous, but funny nonetheless and his ability to engage with an audience remains undiminished.
 |
Review
Indeed, he is much better at doing this than he is reintroducing characters from his popular TV shows, such as Neville Lister, when the sets are shown on a big screen and the props are minimal.
His impressions, too, are very good and his rendition of famous stand up comedians in other jobs is priceless; Tommy Cooper as an aircraft Captain in distress and a Rap Star as a Radio 3 DJ, are worth the admission fee alone. Always confident of his ability, Henry takes control and rarely lets go, though perhaps cracking jokes about soldiers getting shot at in Iraq is a little much.
All in all, this is a good night out and, before leaving the stage, Henry asks the audience whether they’ve had a “nice time”. Not a good time or even a great time, but a “nice” time and that is the word that probably sums up this performance best. Nice.
Chris High.
If so - please feel free to leave your FEEDBACK
break the rules as I see fit.” - Chris High 2003.