River City's 'horrible' baddie on spooky new Glasgow role

Glasgow Times

2 days ago

Creepy stately home? Check. Dour housekeeper? Of course. Newly-wed couple arriving on a dark and stormy night? Absolutely.
However, the scariest thing about Amy Conway's play, which is the penultimate production in this season of A Play A Pie and A Pint at Oran Mor, might just be the fact that it deals with women and ageing ...
Sarah McCardie gives a short laugh.
Sarah McCardie and Manasa Tagica (Image: Eoin Carey)
'I think a lot of women will relate to it,' she nods. 'It is very spooky, all Gothic comedy horror, but what I found really interesting is this idea of society's view of women as they get older.
"The pressure that's put on us, and the way we feel - that whole 'is it the menopause, or am I losing my mind?''
She pauses. 'That really resonated with me.'
Sarah McCardie and Manasa Tagica (Image: Eoin Carey)
The play, which stars Mary Gapinski and Royal Conservatoire of Scotland graduate Manasa Tagica alongside ex-River City actor and writer Sarah, came from playwright Amy's love of Victorian gothic literature.
'I love it but I noticed that most of the women are either young and nubile, or old and monstrous,' she says.
'There is rarely nuance or transition, you are either the swooning heroine or the mad hag in the attic. This play is my way to confront our society's fear of aging women, and how we can embrace the seasons of change.'
Sarah plays Agnes, who arrives at said creepy Air BnB with her husband James. Late that night Agnes hears wailing from deep within the house, and goes in search of answers.
Sarah McCardie and Manasa Tagica (Image: Eoin Carey)
'I like scary movies, but I wouldn't watch them on my own," Sarah says, adding, mysteriously: "I've got this spooky dishwasher at the moment.
'It has this feature, which means the door opens by itself when the cycle is finished. It gives me a fright every single time.
'But it's that kind of jump scare people love about horror, isn't it? The thrill of being scared.'
Last time Sarah was on stage at A Play A Pie and A Pint, she was playing Lulu's mum in a play about the Glasgow singer's Eurovision success in the 1960s.
'That was a lot of fun,' she says, smiling. 'This is the first time I've dipped my toes in theatre acting since then, actually. I took a diversion, a happy one, with lots of other things - but it's good to be back on stage.'
Sarah with the cast of Irvine Welsh's Crime (Image: ITV)
The "happy diversion" included Irvine Welsh's hardhitting TV police drama Crime, in which she played DCI Gillian Glover, alongside Dougray Scott, Joanna Vanderham and Ken Stott.
'That was an incredible experience,' she nods. 'It was such a dark time, during the Covid pandemic, but I also feel very grateful that a lot of good things happened in my life.
'Crime was definitely one of them. From being a huge fan of Trainspotting as a kid, to getting to work with Irvine, who is one of my heroes – that was really a dream.'
It is just over a year since Sarah's brother, the accomplished actor and Line of Duty star Brian McCardie, sadly died. At the time, Sarah said he had 'touched many lives, and is gone much too soon', and it is obvious his loss is still deeply felt.
'I was one of five, growing up, and I watched all my brothers go into the arts, acting and writing,' she says, adding with a laugh: 'I think my parents were secretly hoping that as number five, I might be the one to do something sensible.'
Sarah McCardie and Paul Samson as Sharon and Raymond on River City (Image: BBC)
Sarah and her family lived in Carluke for eight years, until her dad's job took them south. She went to Central School of Speech and Drama in London after school, and came back to Glasgow when she landed the role of Raymond's evil wife 'Sharon McLaren from Arran' on BBC soap River City.
'That was the best move I ever made,' she says. 'It was a chance to play a baddie, which was great – Sharon really was horrible - and then in 2020 I joined the story team. I became a story producer, and I only left in March this year – it's been wild.
'I felt very sad when I heard that it was finishing next year. It was a part of my own DNA for so long.'
After PPP, Sarah has some 'writing work' coming up and is hoping more theatre will be on the horizon.
'Now that I'm back in the world of live audiences,' she says, with a smile. 'Otherwise, I'm just opening it up to the universe, and we'll see what happens next.'
The Haunting of Agnes Gilfrey runs from June 16 to 21 at Oran Mor.