PLAYING a psychopath has its advantages. For actor Will Featherstone, his role of serial killer Dan in the revival of Emlyn Williams' psychological thriller Night Must Fall, brings him back to his family roots of North Yorkshire and a chance to re-visit Northallerton, Pickering and, particularly, the remote North York Moors National Park hamlet of Fangdale Beck.

"I'm excited about visiting York Theatre Royal next week, because my dad was born in Northallerton and my dad's family was based around Pickering and Hovingham. As a kid I went back to North Yorkshire and only recently did I stop when my grandfather passed away two years ago. I used to visit him in Pickering. He has a seat dedicated to him in Dalby Forest and his ashes are scattered in the Fangdale Beck area where he used to live as a boy. His mother was the headmistress of the primary school, which sadly doesn't exist any more," he says.

Featherstone is taking on quite a role in the rarely-performed 1935 play – which toured to Newcastle – with the young Emlyn Williams writing the striking role of Dan for himself. The production played the West End and Broadway before Robert Montgomery earned an Oscar nomination for the 1937 film adaptation and then added a 1948 radio version. Burgess Meredith and James Cagney broadcast the role in the 1940s. Albert Finney starred in the film remake in 1964 before Matthew Broderick featured in a 1999 Broadway revival.

"I haven't seen the two films but I'm aware that Emlyn Williams wrote the part for himself at the age of 25, which is pretty impressive. He literally wrote himself a killer part. This a young guy who comes into a fairly staid environment and exudes cockiness and we immediately take to him. He charms the house and worms his way in and becomes a love interest to a young woman, who is enigmatic and fascinating, and ends up killing people. It's a real showpiece of a play.

"It was really forward-thinking and a modern thing to have done in 1935. Williams was obviously fascinated with serial killers because he wrote a subsequent book called Beyond Belief, which was all about Ian Brady and Myra Hindley (the Moors Murders) and the love story between them and what had attracted her to him particularly. Williams wondered what was so fascinating about Brady's mind," says Featherstone.

The actor is amazed that the play has been performed so little over the years "because the whole thing is an entertaining, thrilling play. Williams knew his audience and how to give them comedy and craft the action of building up a world for 25 minutes into which Dan walks. It's then filled with a deep drama and a serious message. But you do have to approach the play knowing that it is about a psychopath," adds the actor, who has to act out a scene where his character is suspected of keeping a woman's head in a hat box.

"We never find out, but we can strongly suggest that it is inside. It's an ancient sign of power to have someone's head and keep it. It's interesting that it's an expensive box he's taken from a fancy hotel. There's a real irony for Dan about having a posh woman's head in a posh hat box. That sums up where he is in his working class fight."

On the question of approaching the role of a psychopath, Featherstone feels that great sensitivity and research is involved. "You can never play a psychopath. That's an impossible thing to do. You can only play intentions and the audience will read into that. There are certain traits which are common, like a kind of megalomania and a need to be acknowledged and documented for a status that hasn't been afforded you. That's very helpful because you're not trying to play someone who appears crazy. Psychopaths are psychopaths because they genuinely believe in what they are doing. The audience notices that the character's reality is skewed and you're looking at someone and thinking, 'Oh my God, you really believe this don't you?'"

Featherstone credits Williams with writing the switches from charming to sinister which he feels makes the plot incredibly daring for its time as it spins around a traditional, stuffy 1930s drawing room comedy into a brooding murder mystery.

Gwen Taylor stars as bullying Mrs Bransom, who makes the mistake of inviting Dan to become her private assistant, with Niamh McGrady as downtrodden niece Olivia and Daragh O'Malley as murder-investigating Inspector Belsize.

"The central storyline is Olivia's liberation and sexual desire for danger and for something that is dark. What that says about Emlyn Williams I don't know," says Featherstone.

He laughs about having to kill Gwen Taylor's character at every performance and says: "Actually, she's wonderful and a real star and we're very fortunate to have her still touring with us. We only had three weeks of rehearsals, so this play has had to develop on the road. Dare I say, we've had a fun time doing it."

The actor's latest high-profile role was in the recently-released movie A United Kingdom with Rosamund Pike and David Oyelowo with cameos in Fresh Meat, Endeavour, Ashes to Ashes and Midsomer Murders on TV. "I've predominately done a lot of theatre and touring which I love doing. I know a lot of actors get a bit sniffy about going on the road, but for me it's the most privileged way to travel. You get to unlock a welcome at theatres across the country and overseas. I think being live is an important foundation because I feel better equipped to do more screenwork," says Featherstone, who reveals that his next big role is being a dad in February.

n Night Must Fall, Tuesday, November 15 to Saturday, November 19. Box Office: 01094-623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk