WELL-LIKED funnyman Lenny Henry has returned to the stage in a dramatic role at the Bath Theatre Royal this week.

He is starring in August Wilson’s multi award-winning drama Fences as the brand new production plays out in the city.

Lenny Henry makes a welcome return in the powerful classic, which runs at the venue until March 2.

Directed by Paulette Randall, the production also features Terence Maynard, Colin McFarlane, Tanya Moodie, Peter Bankole and Ashley Zhangazha.

August Wilson’s Fences is one of the greatest American dramas of the 20th century, winner of a Pulitzer Prize for drama, the New York Drama Critics’ Award and two Tony Awards for Best Play in 1987 and Best Revival in 2010.

Set in 1950s Pennsylvania, before the Civil Rights Movement, it is the story of what happens when a strong man is robbed of his dreams and of a family trying to hold together despite the odds, a universal story which will touch a chord in every human heart.

Playing the towering central character of tragic hero Troy Maxson, Lenny Henry follows in a distinguished line of performers which includes James Earl Jones, Laurence Fishburne and Denzel Washington.

Once a gifted athlete, Troy Maxson was denied his chance at the big time by the policies of segregation, but he now struggles through daily life in a dead-end job in Pittsburgh.

A proud, gregarious and hard-working breadwinner, he is loved and respected by his family and friends, but Troy is also a stubborn hypocrite, blighted by his past and resentful of a world he believes has denied him chances at every turn.

Fearful of history repeating itself, he takes out his frustrations on Cory, his ambitious, sports-obsessed son, and Rose, his compassionate, straight-talking and loyal wife.

The complex dynamics that both tear families apart and hold them together are laid bare as Troy, blind to his own mistakes, single-mindedly risks everything he holds dear.

Tickets, priced £18.50-34.50, are available from the box office on 01225 448844 or via www.theatreroyal.org.uk