Rafe Spall on Death of England: ‘This play is an attempt to delve into the white mentality’

The stage and screen actor is currently starring in a mighty monologue at The National Theatre. He talks to Paul Taylor about race, self-doubt and the weight of expectation that comes from having a famous father

‘Part of “Death of England” is like a tone poem, some of it is a bit soap opera, then there are bits where you say things that are potentially offensive,’ says Spall (Helen Murray)

Rafe Spall found himself chattered about in the gossip columns a fortnight back. The popular and hugely talented actor – acclaimed equally for his stage and screen performances – had toppled offstage at the National Theatre during an early preview of Death of England.

To be fair, anyone would struggle to stay put on this particular stage – it is in the shape of a large red cross of St George that forks out over the whole space. For a manic hour and 40 minutes, Spall has to race around, patrolling it alone. My spies tell me that he saved the situation with such lightning dispatch that some members of the audience might not have registered how close the event came to careering off course. Even those sitting in the well of the auditorium, right where they were at risk of being spoken to by the charming but dangerously volatile protagonist of this transfixing one-man play, remained oblivious.

All the same, coming on top of the huge demands that Death of England makes of its cast of one, the upset seems to have thrown Spall in more ways than one. For a short while, it looked as if this interview may have had to be shelved. But there are no discernible scars – physical or psychological – when he materialises in friendly, forthright fashion for our slightly postponed encounter.