. . . and here’s another Alfred who can deliver an acting masterclass
ALFRED ENOCH will star with Alfred Molina in Red next year and even though they haven’t met yet, they’re keen to avoid any confusion with their Christian names.
Most of Enoch’s family and friends call him Alfie, while Molina’s known to his legion of mates and collaborators on both sides of the Atlantic as Fred.
Londoner Enoch, 28, who spent three years on the U.S. network TV mystery drama How To Get Away With Murder, opposite Viola Davis, said he was fascinated by the themes of generational concern and change when he read John Logan’s play.
‘There are a lot of interesting fault lines and points of conflict in the play,’ he noted, talking about Rothko and Enoch’s character Ken, who starts off as a complete novice in Rothko’s studio, but develops a style of his own and soon wants to usurp the master.
Enoch has extensive theatre experience. Last year, he played Edgar in the Talawa company’s King Lear at the Royal Exchange in Manchester. He was in Josie Rourke’s powerful production of Coriolanus at the Donmar; and Nicholas Hytner directed him in Timon Of Athens at the National five years ago. ‘But it’s my first time working in the West End,’ Enoch added.
Director Michael Grandage said he and playwright Logan want to re-investigate Red, not create a carbon copy of what ran at the Donmar. And Enoch’s casting makes it clear the piece will speak to a diverse audience.
‘I just want it to feel vital and alive, as a debate about art in the 21st century,’ Grandage told me, adding that a play about why art matters is particularly topical, when the subject is being removed from some schools’ curricula.
Even before his 45 episodes of How To Get Away With Murder, Enoch had made a name for himself, thanks to playing Dean Thomas in the Harry Potter films. Next up is the BBC’s epic sword and sandals TV drama Troy: Fall Of A City, in which he plays Aeneas.
But being in a hit play with Molina, directed by Grandage, at the jewel that is Wyndham’s Theatre could catapult him into a new sphere altogether.