Lenny Henry backs move to save old theatre
Black Country funnyman Lenny Henry threw his weight behind the campaign to save Dudley Hippodrome when he visited a foundry in his home town.
"It is a building with lots of history to it, and it is always important to preserve any live venue," he said as he visited Thomas Dudley. "There are always people who will see it as progress when you knock a building down but with a town as old as Dudley, history is very important." Lenny said he remembered seeing the legendary comic Tommy Cooper at the theatre.
He said: "It is a building that is definitely worth preserving."
Dudley Council this month applied for planning permission to demolish the former theatre, which has been lying empty for the last three years since Gala Bingo Club moved out of the premises.
During the visit, |Lenny also spoke of his pride at plans to grant him the freedom of the borough, which will soon by voted on by members of Dudley Council.
"For somebody who never even completed his education, just to even be considered for such a thing is a huge honour," he said.
"I'm sure my mother would be very proud."
Lenny, who as a child lived in Douglas Road in the Buffery Park area of town, was in Dudley to open a £4.5 million production line at the foundry.
He said: "I worked for eight months up the road at British Federal, and my father was a foundry worker too, so I feel a great connection with this line of work."
Lenny performed a short comedy act for staff members during his visit to the factory, joking about the names of some of the lavatory cisterns which the company produces.
He also joked about his childhood growing up in the area, and his memories of going to discos in the Queen Mary Ballroom at Dudley Zoo.
