Lenny Henry will star in the stage premiere of Rudy’s Rare Records, based on the BBC Radio 4 series which he co-created, at Birmingham REP and also at Hackney Empire.
Written by Danny Robins, Rudy’s Rare Records is a “funny and touching comedy” set in an old reggae record shop in Birmingham.
Lenny Henry was born in Dudley and made his name on the television programmes New Faces and Tiswas. He co-founded Comic Relief before turning to serious acting.
He won the Evening Standard best newcomer award for his portrayal of Othello for Northern Broadsides in 2009 and completed a tour and West End season at the Duchess Theatre, playing Troy Maxon in August Wilson’s award-winning Fences in 2013.
The shop Rudy’s Rare Records is owned by irrepressible Rudy Sharpe (Larrington Walker), reluctantly helped out by his long-suffering son Adam (Lenny Henry). Rudy’s chaotic approach of “if it ain’t on the shelf, it’s on the floor” clashes with Adam’s need for calm and order.
The record shop becomes a “battleground of bickering, snickering, breaking-up and making-up played out to the shop’s foot-tapping soundtrack”. However, when the shop’s future is threatened by developers, father and son must put their differences aside as they battle to keep the music alive.
The show features music by Jimmy Cliff, Desmond Dekker, Bob Marley and the Sugarhill Gang, played live by a band onstage.
Larrington Walker has been in all four BBC series of Rudy’s Rare Records. His stage credits include many seasons with the RSC, including New York residencies.
Joivan Wade (Richie) is best known as Failia in the cult E4 series Youngers. He trained at the Brit School and was a member of the National Youth Theatre.
Jeffery Kissoon (Clifton) works regularly with the RSC. His credits include Caesar in the RSC’s all-black cast production of Julius Caesar, Vladimir in Talawa Theatre’s Waiting For Godot and he performed opposite Kim Cattrall in Antony and Cleopatra at Liverpool Everyman, all in 2012. Before that he was an associate artist at Birmingham REP during the 1990s, playing leading roles in Othello, Macbeth and The Tempest.
The cast also includes Lorna Gayle, Natasha Godfrey and Tendayi Jembere.
Danny Robins has written widely for TV and radio. He co-created and wrote the cult BBC 2 series We Are History. He has written for Armando Iannucci, Joan Rivers, Ronnie Barker and even Basil Brush. For radio he has worked on Dead Ringers and Parsons and Naylor.
Rudy’s Rare Records is directed by Paulette Randall with musical direction by Joseph Roberts, design by Libby Watson and lighting design by Mark Jonathan.
Rudy’s Rare Records premières at Birmingham REP from Thursday (4 September) until Saturday 20 September. It then runs at Hackney Empire from 24 September until 5 October.
A separate event, In Conversation with Lenny Henry, will take place in The Studio at Birmingham REP on Saturday 13 September at 5PM. Further details can be found at the Birmingham REP web site.