Comedy legend Sir Lenny Henry has declared that racism is 'still at large' as he gears up for his first stand-up tour in 15 years. The 67-year-old comedian will perform at Liverpool's Playhouse Theatre on Williamson Square on October 10.
Why Lenny Henry stopped touring
Sir Lenny gave up touring in 2011, explaining that he 'needed a break' and found the constant travel 'exhausting'. However, he continued to perform one-off gigs during that period. Now, he is returning to the stage with a new show titled Still At Large.
The meaning behind 'Still At Large'
Speaking to The Sunday Times, Sir Lenny said: 'The reason the show is called Still At Large isn't only because I'm still at large, but because things I used to talk about in the '80s are still at large now – like racism, the rise of the far right, the tumult we're in as a world at the moment.'
He added: 'These are things we have to deal with and I think it's all right to talk about these things because I'm 67, so I'm allowed.'
Sir Lenny cited comedy icons Billy Connolly, Richard Pryor, and Chris Rock as influences, noting that as they aged, their authenticity grew stronger.
Tour dates and venues
The tour began in May and will take him to Glasgow, Edinburgh, Liverpool, and Cardiff, before concluding at the Hackney Empire in London on November 3.
What inspired the return
The Comic Relief co-founder revealed that the idea to return to stand-up came while performing other shows. He noticed audiences wanted more interaction beyond the scripted material.
'I got a bit tired of the travelling and I thought I didn't want to do it for the rest of my life, but it turns out I didn't want to stop it completely,' he said.
He recalled: 'When I did a one-person show I wrote called August In England, and then Every Brilliant Thing, written by Jonny Donahoe, I found that when I was interacting with the audience, they were egging me on to do more outside the script.'
'I thought, 'oh, they want me to do a set again'. So, I started to think two years ago about what that would look like.'
Lenny Henry's career highlights
Sir Lenny is best known for The Lenny Henry Show, which aired from 1984 to 2005, as well as his appearances on Tiswas and Three Of A Kind. He also starred alongside George Clooney and Adam Sandler in last year's film Jay Kelly.
