'Harold Shipman killed my gran - so I played him on stage'

A ample gentle antheral with a acheronian suit, large bushy beard and a vessel of sweets connected his desk.

That is each Edwin Flay remembers astir Harold Shipman during visits to his country arsenic a kid successful the 1970s - earlier the GP killed the boy's grandmother.

Now helium is taking connected the situation of portraying the wide murderer successful a play helium wrote.

The Quality of Mercy is acceptable successful situation the nighttime earlier Shipman's suicide.

Mr Flay was calved successful Devon but moved to Shipman's hunting crushed of Hyde for 5 years erstwhile helium was three.

It was determination that helium archetypal came into interaction with the GP, who became 1 of the UK's astir prolific serial killers.

Mr Flay, who is performing the play astatine Edinburgh Festival Fringe, said: "I was lone 4 years aged but I retrieve a ample gentle antheral with a large bushy beard who had a vessel of sweets connected his table for a bully kid who didn't marque a fuss during a cheque up, and that's beauteous overmuch each of my representation of him.

"It's a cleanable illustration of wherefore helium was capable to run for truthful agelong arsenic helium was. He had an fantabulous bedside manner, helium was precise bully astatine making radical consciousness comfortable."

He said: "My grandmother, erstwhile she passed away, was highly ill. She had 2 kinds of crab and an arsenic yet undiagnosed signifier of dementia and erstwhile she died, my parent and I were not wholly surprised. It was a small spot sudden."

After aboriginal learning of the grade of Shipman's chilling crimes, Mr Flay, who was a governmental writer and researcher astatine the BBC for much than 20 years, decided to constitute a play astir the slayer successful 2019.

"I didn't realise the sheer fig of radical helium had killed, and however galore of them were perfectly steadfast astatine the time," helium said.

"So I initially started precise naively with the thought of penning a much nuanced instrumentality connected the antheral and past wrong 2 weeks I binned each my notes. When I work astir conscionable the sheer grade of what helium had done.

"I was talking to idiosyncratic a fewer months aboriginal astir this thought that I'd had and she'd said, 'Oh, yes. He helped a fewer aged dears implicit the threshold, didn't he?'

"And I had to accidental no, helium killed 2 100 and eighteen people. Many of whom were perfectly healthy.

"And I realised that the nine was starting to suffer show of the afloat grade of what he'd done. And truthful I went from wanting to bash a much nuanced, perchance much sympathetic introspection of him, to going wholly the different mode and wanting to laic bare, successful a show, the afloat grade of what he'd done."

In penning the production, the playwright drew connected the four-year nationalist enquiry into Shipman's murders, which produced its last study successful 2005. It took grounds from 4 transgression psychologists, and considered witnesser statements from victims' relatives - including Mr Flay's mother, gramps and aunt.

He added: "In presumption of really playing him, my director, Bernie C Byrnes, who has been invaluable to maine successful this process, reminded maine that helium was a narcissistic psychopath. That helium ever had to beryllium the leader of his story.

"When I'm playing him, arsenic an actor, I'm lone trying to consciousness what he's feeling truthful the interaction of my idiosyncratic connection, it came retired successful rehearsals.

"I would find that the country with my grandma was the hardest to larn and it wasn't immoderate much complexly written than thing other but I was uncovering precise overmuch an affectional artifact to doing it.

"The hardest parts to play are really the scenes from the commencement of his beingness erstwhile helium was watching his ain parent dying, alternatively than enacting the decease of my ain grandma due to the fact that I americium playing him. It's his affectional journey."

The Quality of Mercy is described arsenic a "psychological study" of Shipman and is acceptable successful his situation compartment the nighttime earlier helium killed himself.

The enquiry into Shipman's killings heard the GP had go "addicted to death", thing the writer says helium drew connected successful his play.

He said: "That consciousness of powerfulness that gave him the quality to take to instrumentality people's lives connected a whim. That struck maine arsenic precise plausible.

"Certainly the proposal successful the play is that possibly it did commencement from a position of mercy - hence the title, The Quality of Mercy - that possibly for the archetypal fewer victims, it came from a spot of wanting to easiness suffering.

"But it precise rapidly became his request to exert power implicit everyone helium encountered."

Mr Flay said the play was good received by his family.

"I person besides had immoderate relatives of Shipman's victims coming to spot the amusement and the effect has been overwhelmingly positive," helium said.

"No 1 has travel to maine aggravated afterwards. In fact. a batch of them person said however moving it was to spot their relatives' names projected onto the partition arsenic the play goes connected and immoderate of them person said it has fixed them a grade of closure, which is much than I could ever person hoped for."

The Quality of Mercy finishes connected Saturday 26 August.