Lenny Henry - Finding Shakespeare

Synopsis
Documentary. Lenny Henry tells how a comedian had a burning ambition to act in Shakespeare’s plays. There are brief extracts (rehearsal and performance) of Henry in Othello (Rutter’s 2009 production) and The Comedy of Errors (Cooke’s 2011 production). Henry speaks of how Zeffirelli’s ROMEO AND JULIET (1968) made a big impact on him, and there is a clip from the film. Henry talks to Barrie Rutter, Northern Broadsides, about speaking Shakespeare with local accents. Henry visits The New Vic, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and there are brief scenes from a Northern Broadsides production of Love’s Labour’s Lost and an interview with boxer Adam Fogarty who played Costard. Dominic West tells of how he came to love Shakespeare and the connections between the television drama THE WIRE and Shakespeare. Jonathan Bate and Henry talk about the value of an academic education into Shakespeare. Rapper Akala and Henry rap "Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day’ and Akala challenges Henry to guess which lines written on cards were written by Shakespeare and which by rappers. Henry joins a Shakespeare workshop at a school in Norwood, South London led by Adrian Lester - they enact scenes displaying status and rap together. Finally Henry talks to Dominic Dromgoole in the interior of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. Henry speaks some lines from Othello from the stage.
Series
Perspectives
Language
English
Country
Great Britain
Medium
Television
Technical information
Colour / Sound
Transmission details
1 Apr 2012 at 22:15 (Channel: ITV1)
Duration
60 mins

Credits

Director
Elizabeth Dobson
Contributor
Adam Fogerty; Adrian Lester; Akala; Dominic Dromgoole; Dominic West; Jonathan Bate; Lenny Henry

Additional Details

Production type
Documentary/Educational/News
Subjects
Drama
Keywords
Shakespeare, William (1564-1616); Rehearsals; Rap music; Hip Hop; Northern Broadsides

Production Company

Name

Matchlight

Archive

Name

BFI National Archive

Web
http://www.bfi.org.uk/archive-collections/searching-access-collections/research-viewing-services External site opens in new window
Phone
020 7255 1444
Fax
020 7436 0165
Address
21 Stephen Street
London
W1T 1LN
Name

BoB

Email
bob@learningonscreen.ac.uk
Web
https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/ondemand External site opens in new window
Phone
020 3743 2345
Address
Learning on Screen - the British Universities and Colleges Film and Video Council
330 Holborn Gate
1st Floor, Suite 120
London
WC1V 7QH
Notes
Formerly a service from BUFVC, British Universities Film & Video Council
Name

Learning on Screen Off-Air Recording Back-up Service

Email
services@bufvc.ac.uk
Web
http://bufvc.ac.uk/tvandradio/offair External site opens in new window
Phone
020 7393 1514
Fax
020 7393 1555
Address
For Learning on Screen Members only
77 Wells Street
London
W1T 3QJ

How to cite this record

Shakespeare, "Lenny Henry - Finding Shakespeare". https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/shakespeare/search/index.php/title/av73976 (Accessed 26 Nov 2024)