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Henry to make National debut in Shakespeare’s Comedy

Published 18 March 2011

Lenny Henry is to make his National Theatre debut in Dominic Cooke’s production of The Comedy Of Errors, which will be staged at the Olivier theatre in November.

Henry is best known for his long comedy career that has seen him star in numerous television programmes including Chef!, Comic Strip Presents and Hope And Glory, co-found Comic Relief and present on television and radio.

Henry made his stage acting debut in 2009 in Northern Broadsides’s Othello. After a critically acclaimed run at the West Yorkshire Playhouse the play transferred to Trafalgar Studios 1 where Henry’s performance in the title role earned him an Evening Standard Award for Outstanding Newcomer.

Joining Henry in the cast is Sister Act’s Chris Jarman who, before playing gangster Shank in the London Palladium musical, appeared in Royal Shakespeare Company productions of Antony And Cleopatra, The Tempest and Julius Caesar.

Shakespeare’s The Comedy Of Errors tells the story of two sets of twin brothers: Antipholus of Syracuse (Henry) and Antipholus of Ephesus (Jarman) and twin servants both called Dromio. With each twin unaware that their brotherly other half is living in the same city as them, chaos descends with plenty of slapstick comedy and mistaken identity to keep audiences amused.

Nicholas Hytner, Artistic Director of the National Theatre, told press at the launch of the new season that the show will be aimed at a family audience in the vein of its previously successful family shows His Dark Materials and War Horse.

CM

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