He dresses like a New Romantic and played Johnny Marr and Danny Baker. Now the rising Welshman is taking on his most painful role yet

On my way to interview Laurie Kynaston, who is about to reprise his acclaimed performance as the tormented teenager Nicolas in the West End transfer of Florian Zeller’s The Son, I encounter the 25-year-old loitering in a doorway near the Duke of York’s theatre, where we have arranged to meet. “I got here early and I didn’t want to seem too keen,” he says, whipping off his sunglasses to reveal imploring brown eyes that could make Bambi look shifty.

His natty wardrobe choices this morning suggest a one-man Spandau Ballet revival: gleaming brogues and a billowing gold-patterned shirt tucked into pleated trousers and left partially unbuttoned, exposing a triangle of pale chest and a pendant. Once we are inside, he is keen to set foot on the stage where he will be performing next month, but his publicist cautions against any treading of the boards today. “Maybe just look at it from the stalls,” she suggests. “Health and safety and all that.”