Acting on Stage and Screen
I'm an actor based in Brighton, UK. Having graduated in Film & Drama from Reading University in 1998, I worked in news and broadcasting for many years before becoming a professional actor in 2010.
For four years, I trained in the Meisner Technique under Eva Pope and Bryan Oliver; Meisner's tenet of living truthfully through imaginary circumstances has since informed every part of my approach to the craft.
In the years I have been acting, I have appeared in two Bafta winning productions - Refugee (winner, Best Drama, Children's Baftas 2016), and Suffragettes (winner, Specialist Factual, Baftas 2019) - as well as several films and TV programmes including Partygate (Channel 4), Outlander (Amazon Prime), Grace Of Monaco, and Crowhurst.
My theatre work includes The Quality Of Mercy (The Space, Edinburgh Fringe/The Playground Theatre, London), Richard II (Waterloo Vaults), Moonlight & Magnolias (English Theatre Of Hamburg), The Crystal Egg (Waterloo Vaults), The Tailor-Made Man (White Bear, London), The House (London and St Albans), and The Brighton Killers (Brighton Fringe).
I also performed for several years on the cabaret circuit as an escape artist, playing venues and festivals across the UK and Europe. In addition to escapology, I have a variety of circus skills including whip and stilt-walking, and provided period magic consultancy for an episode of Downton Abbey.
A full CV is available at Spotlight.
Selected Reviews
“Flay so convincingly channels the motivations and neurosis of a serial killer, it's scary.”
Diep Tran - Playbill - The Quality Of Mercy, The Space, Edinburgh
“Superbly performed... Flay demonstrates time and again his exceptional skills as a performer.”
Bee Parkinson Cameron - Theatre Weekly - The Quality Of Mercy, The Space, Edinburgh
“One of the best performances we have seen at the Fringe this year... A fantastic piece of writing, performed impeccably by Flay.”
Rachel Louise Martin - West End Best Friend - The Quality Of Mercy, The Space, Edinburgh.
“Edwin Flay as York is consistently adept at handling Shakespeare’s verse and driving through his scenes with an emotionally truthful fire that propels the story towards its tragic end.”
Laura Kressley - The Play’s The Thing UK - Richard II, The Vaults, Waterloo
“Edwin Flay is strikingly sleazy as Howard Strickling, MGM’s PR man who will resort to anything.”
Stephen Bates - The Reviews Hub - The Tailor-Made Man, White Bear Theatre
“Edwin Flay as murderer Percy Lefroy is mesmerising in his portrayal...”
David Rumelle - Remote Goat - The Brighton Killers, Brighton Fringe
Photo by Cameron Harris