Mark adds : “ He made everyone feel like they could be a world champion .” This isn ’ t the first , and I doubt the last , I ’ ve heard about Bert Bracewell , who sadly passed away in 2020 . He has clearly left a lasting impression on all those he taught . Jane and Mark fondly mention other lecturers : Lynn Bains , Clive Perry , Christine Raffaelli and Marillyn Gray , to name a few . They reflect on their training and what was expected of them ; at least three 12-hour days a week and lateness was just not accepted - three strikes and you were out ! “ We had to do a 30 minute physical warm-up every morning ,” remarks Mark . Both Jane and Mark are acutely aware of the discipline they received at QMC and how important this was for preparing them for successful careers . Jane came back to QMU six-years after receiving her diploma to study another year to gain a degree . “ I was a different student second round , rather than thinking about getting my 20 pence on the pool table and doing the minimum , I was the pain in the a *** that was always asking questions !” We move on to talk about their roles in ‘ Still Game ’. Mark describes how he first got involved with the sitcom . “ I was out drinking with my friend Paul Riley ( Winston ), he says to me that Ford ( Kiernan ) and Greg ( Hemphill ) ( creators of Still Game and ‘ Chewin ’ the Fat ’) were writing for the telly and needed a couple of characters . I appeared in a couple of Chewin ’ the Fat sketches and this led to Still Game .” Jane ’ s journey to Still Game came from having worked with Ford and Greg on a number of sketch and stage shows early in her career . “ I actually played a home help who was very similar to Isa in a comedy sketch show called ‘ Pulp Video ’. I then did the radio Chewin ’ the Fat . I remember , I ’ d just had a baby , I was greetin ’ because I hadn ’ t slept for weeks and then Julie ( Greg ’ s wife ) came to visit and said : “ Jane , don ’ t worry , Ford and Greg are writing a new show and they ’ re writing you a part as an old woman called Isa .” Both Jane and Mark skip straight to talking about the Live Shows at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow . This saw 21 shows in 2014 for ‘ Still Game Live ’, 15 in 2017 for ‘ Still Game Live 2 ’ and eight shows for ‘ Still Game Live : The Final Farewell ’ in 2019 . Every performance was a 13,000 sell-out audience – playing to over half-a-million people . “ We love live theatre ; we ’ re trained stage actors . There ’ s much more fun to be had doing a live show ,” states Mark .
“ During the last dress rehearsal on the afternoon before the first show , I tripped and fell on stage . I smashed my glasses , got a massive black eye , cut my face and I later discovered that I ’ d fractured my wrist . But , what could I do ? I just had to go on stage and do the show .” I can see the baffled look on Jane ’ s face as she replays the moment in her head . This ‘ the show must go on ’ attitude was clearly developed at QMC all those years ago .
Mark continues : “ At the same dress rehearsal , I ’ m doing my onepage monologue with not a person in the place and I remember saying to myself : “ This is going to be a f ** king disaster . Who is going to come and be able to listen to this ?” But , the audio was sensational and we had these massive high-definition screens . Technology helped it become a theatre show . You could not do that 20 years ago . That was quite amazing .” With all the hype surrounding the first live show , Jane reveals the intense nerves she was experiencing just moments before the show . “ The music was blaring ; I could feel it in my chest - it was like a rock concert . I said to Mark , “ What if it ’ s terrible ? What if I forget my lines ?” I never worry about things like that but because it was so crazy , these doubts were there . And then Mark says to me : “ Jane , you can do anything in those clothes .” And that was the key . We all knew these characters so well . We were all so comfortable , no matter what .” “ We got a round of applause for just walking onto the stage at every show - it was sensational ,” Mark exclaims with a huge smile , hands held high clapping above his head and follows up with a whoop and a cheer . “ I loved the Hydro , it was fantastic . But even when you ’ re touring around in an old Corpy van doing TIE ( Theatre in Education ), you ’ re still having the time of your life . Even if I hadn ’ t done anything except for that , it was worth going to drama school - just to get up in the morning to do something you love ,” said Jane . “ Oh Mark , tell the story about when I said look who ’ s in the audience ,” says Jane with raised eyebrows . “ I ’ ve never liked seeing the audience so I don ’ t wear my glasses ,” Mark explains . “ At the Hydro you can obviously see there is an audience ‘ cause there ’ s thousands of them , but it just looks like a big blob to me . Jane says to me : “ Do you see who ’ s in the 5th row ? Peter Kay and Paddy McGuinness !” and I say : “ Shut Up ! You ’ re winding me up .” They reminisce about Peter Kay and Paddy McGuinness coming back stage and how they discovered that Peter is a Still Game fanatic – he knows every character , episode name , release dates – the lot . Jane also delights in telling me what Peter said to her when he and Paddy joined the cast for dinner : “ It was the most exciting thing ever .” Jane does a very good impression of Peter Kay : “ Eh , eh Paddy ? Get me , having me tea with Granny Murray !” A reference to Jane ’ s role as Granny Murray in the children ’ s TV show ‘ Me Too ’. We finish with Mark remembering that U2 wanted the Hydro but they couldn ’ t get it ”… cause we added extra shows ? Mad !” Once again we ’ re all chuckling . It ’ s not many people who can say that they ’ ve kept U2 out of a venue , but Jane and Mark are one of the few . ❒
Jane McCarry – Diploma in Drama 1992 and BA Acting 1999 Mark Cox – Diploma in Drama 1993 . ❒
“ I loved the Hydro , it was fantastic . But even when you ’ re touring around in an old Corpy van doing TIE ( Theatre in Education ), you ’ re still having the time of your life . Even if I hadn ’ t done anything except for that , it was worth going to drama school - just to get up in the morning to do something you love .” Jane .
QMYOU / Celebrating 50 Years of Drama 33