Lenny Henry criticises vintage blackface poster in Bournemouth theatre dressing room

Lenny Henry has criticised Bournemouth Pavilion Theatre for hanging a poster depicting blackface in one of its dressing rooms.

The comedian and actor tweeted a photograph of the poster following his show, An Evening with Lenny Henry, at the venue.

He tweeted: “Thank you Bournemouth. Corkin’ – but maybe change the posters in the dressing rooms. I heartily recommend Shaft or Silver Streak. Or even Howards End…but not this…”

The undated poster was an advert for a historic production of Dick Whittington and His Cat at Richmond’s Opera House, and featured white characters with their faces painted black and their lips painted red.

BH Live, which runs the theatre, said the poster had now been removed.

In a statement, a spokesman for the company said: “The poster is historical and has been displayed for a number of years. We apologise for any distress caused.”

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