Rosebud Live at Riverside Studios - Sir Lenny Henry

Rosebud Live at Riverside Studios - Sir Lenny Henry

From Rosebud with Gyles Brandreth by Gyles Brandreth / Plain Jaine Media

May 8, 2026 · 1h 13m

About this episode

Sir Lenny Henry shares his inspiring journey from Dudley to becoming a celebrated comedian and actor.

Our guest today is Sir Lenny Henry, the pioneering comedian, entertainer, actor and campaigner, who tells Gyles his story, and it's an impressive one: from the streets of Dudley in the West Midlands, to winning New Faces at only 16 years old, to an acclaimed run as Othello at the West Yorkshire Playhouse. Lenny brings his childhood home to life - his mother, a gifted preacher who came to the UK from Jamaica, and whose formidable personality was a huge influence on Lenny. His dads - Winston and Uncle Albert. The "tall food". The park. The mood board on his bedroom wall. This is an evocative, fascinating and very funny edition of Rosebud. This episode was recorded at Riverside Studios in Hammersmith in London, in front of a live audience, as part of Riverside's 50th birthday celebrations. Lenny Henry is on tour nationwide, tickets are available here . Don't forget to subscribe to our YouTube here . Join The Rosebud Family here . And visit our website here . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

People in this episode

Host: Gyles Brandreth

Guest: Sir Lenny Henry

Topics covered

  • comedy
  • entertainment
  • storytelling
  • cultural influence
  • live performance

Keywords

  • Lenny Henry
  • comedy
  • Othello
  • Riverside Studios
  • live audience
  • storytelling
  • cultural influence

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: West Yorkshire Playhouse, Acast

Places: Dudley, West Midlands, Riverside Studios, Hammersmith, UK

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