Image: Simon Dack.

One of the men responsible for a bombing in Brighton has helped to create a play about the incident.

The Bombing of the Grand Hotel tells the story of the 1984 attack on the Tory Party Conference, by a member of the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and the aftermath.

Patrick Magee, the man who planted the bomb, and Jo Berry, whose father died in the blast, act as script consultants.

Josie Melia, co-writer of the play, said: “We were quite nervous going to Belfast to meet Pat, it is a big presumption to say we are writing a play about you and a momentous time in your life.

“They were both very forthcoming. Pat has areas he was not going to talk about, but we worked around that. He wouldn’t talk about what he calls ‘operational issues.’

“It’s an interesting character point really – not quite the unreliable narrator issue, but one where the narrator won’t talk about certain taboos.”

On October 12 1984, the Brighton bomb killed five people, and injured at further 31.

The attack was meant to assassinate the then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, and was described at the time as “the most audacious attack on the British government since the gunpowder plot.”

Since then, Magee and Berry have worked together in setting up a pro-peace and conflict resolution organisation called Building Bridges for Peace.

Brighton based co-writers Meila and Julie Everton decided to write about the incident after seeing an historical play, and discussing the idea of writing about an event that happened in the audience’s lifetime.

Jo Berry, daughter of conservative MP Sir Anthony Berry who died in the bombing, said: “I built up a trust with the writers, but there is always a concern about what they’re going to say.

“There was a slight apprehension, but they understand my journey, my work and what I want to say.

“The play communicates my message well, it is very powerful. I think it is going to be very positive.”

The play is opening on April 13, co-produced by Wildspark Theatre and The Cockpit.

The Bombing of the Grand Hotel opens on April 13. For more information, and tickets to the show, visit their website.