From blockbuster TV to the Royal Shakespeare Company, Alvin‑Wilson has built an impressive career — but he tells Ian Cheeseman that nothing compares to the freedom, intensity and complexity of playing Macbeth at the Octagon.
One of the great joys of being a radio presenter who gets to interview creatives for my weekly show Break-a-Leg – which airs on several stations around the UK, including Bolton 96.5FM and Oldham 99.7FM in Greater Manchester- is being able to chat to people like Oliver Alvin‑Wilson.
He’s currently playing Macbeth at the Octagon Theatre in Bolton. Oliver’s CV is impressive.
He played Patrick in six episodes of the Channel 5 thriller Curfew, alongside Alexandra Burke, Lucy Benjamin and Anita Dobson, to name just three.
He appeared in Murder in Provence and played Daemor in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. If that’s not impressive enough, he has also performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company.
Despite all those highlights so far, he told me recently that playing Macbeth in Bolton “technically, as an artist, without sounding pretentious, might be my best role.
Mentally, physically, it’s hopefully a good demonstration of the skills of everything I’ve learnt. There was one other play, called Now I See, about three Black men dealing with mental health, masculinity and movement, which got nominated for an Olivier. That was very special too. It was a play for the people and for culture.
“Being a Black man, that was deep, but in some ways playing Macbeth supersedes that in terms of technique and flow state – being fully immersed in a role – and in terms of every show being very different and having the wiggle room and space to explore this character.
“I think it’s the perfect role for me. I’ve played Henry V and Othello, but Macbeth has it all. I get to do the fighting and all the cool stuff. I have a love interest, even though it’s complicated.
I get to show masculinity in its different forms, be emotional, break down, and be a hero and then a villain. I honestly think that as an actor’s exercise it’s the best. It’s a bit like a story from Black Mirror: when you get told by the fates that you can have everything you desire, but you need to do a few bad acts. As terrible as they are, I think that’s something universal that we can all think about, no matter what age you are.”
Oliver Alvin‑Wilson is not only an amazing actor – I saw his performance a couple of weeks ago – but he’s also a deep thinker about his profession and cares very much about the work he does. I look forward to seeing what he does next.
Macbeth is at the Bolton Octagon until Saturday 28 March and moves to Derby Theatre from 1–18 April. Tickets are available: https://octagonbolton.co.uk/events/macbeth
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