Lenny Henry, review: a rusty yet thoughtful return to stand-up from a singular British talent
After a 16-year absence from stand-up, Lenny Henry 's 'triumphant return' to the stage in Perth last night consisted, in reality, of a fleeting half hour of new material, followed by a looser, more engaging Q&A. There were glimpses of the comic dynamo he once was, but this was more warm-up gig than comeback special.
Performing as part of the Scottish city's Festival of the Arts, Henry's set was a mixture of personal and topical reflections on the last few years. He joked about Suella Braverman, Ozempic, and the Duke of York. None of which were groundbreaking.
He was most captivating when delivering a retrospective, verbal memoir: on how humour could disarm bullies in the schoolyard, or his forthcoming film role in Noah Baumbach's Jay Kelly alongside George Clooney. Along the way, mime, songs and lively impressions of Tommy Cooper, Eddie Murphy and Denzel Washington reminded the audience what makes Henry such a singular talent.
This was the 66-year-old's first stand-up outing since 2009, having spent the intervening years acting on stage and screen (as well as his charity work with Comic Relief). As he put it: 'I'd been doing stand-up since I was 15. By the time I was 40, I thought, is this it? I felt like I was slightly spinning my wheels.'
Host Fred MacAulay warmed up the 1,200-strong audience, at one point asking if anybody present was under 30. There were no more than four lonely whoops. Naturally, then, Henry's quippy material about getting older – from the joy of weekend trips to the garden centre to the cuts to the winter fuel allowance – went down a treat. 'I'm usually in bed by now,' he joked at 8:15pm, met with knowing laughter from the crowd. Other material was a harder sell. 'Do you know the Jamaican nod?' was answered with a silence borne not so much from disinterest as unfamiliarity.
Henry delivered his jokes using presidential-style autocue screens. Understandable, perhaps, given the long hiatus, but it robbed him of spontaneity. For someone who was once one of the most physical performers in British comedy, it was a weirdly static performance. Only three times did he step out from behind the glass to deliver terrifically surreal, well-oiled routines with the fire and pacing of old.
The second half of the show, a sit-down Q&A with MacAulay, was much stronger. Between the silly questions from the audience ('Do you actually stay in Premier Inns on tour?') and baffling ones ('What have Lenny Henry, Michael Jackson, Richard Attenborough and me got in common? Answer: the same birthday!'), there were some gems. A question about whether he still visits Dudley sparked a thoughtful response about growing up near where Enoch Powell gave his 1968 Rivers of Blood speech in Wolverhampton.
It was in these unscripted moments that we saw the old Lenny shine through. So, though not quite a triumphant return for this national treasure, a necessary first-step. And an answer, finally: he does indeed stay in Premier Inns.
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