Perth actors Colin McCredie and Tom McGovern have signed up to Perth Theatre and St Johnstone Football Club’s Oh When The Saints - the play that puts the team and its fans centre stage.
They join a line-up that includes 40 Saintees and cast members drawn from across the community.
Written by Martin McCormick who is also directing the show alongside Perth Theatre’s Artistic Director, Lu Kemp, Oh When The Saints is made with and for the fans of Perth’s favourite football club. It will also strike a chord with anyone who understands the ups and down of following sport, celebrities, music, film, fashion, literature, politics and more.
It’s May 17. It’s the biggest match to date. It’s the biggest match of his life and Bobby has the fear. He’s worried it’s him. He’s the reason ‘teams like St Johnstone’ lose. And he’s not even on the pitch.
Told through the eyes of fans like Bobby and the guy who almost missed Ando’s clinching goal because he was busy getting a pie, this story explores what St Johnstone FC means to the people of Perthshire and across the world. It’s a chance for everyone to get together and support their local club – and enjoy the 2021 party everyone wanted and never got to have.
St Johnstone FC Vice Chairman Charlie Fraser said:
“Having followed the club since boyhood, I’ve been through my fair share of highs and lows with the team and our ever-loyal supporters. It’s really exciting to see the community and the theatre come together in this way to honour our fans and the huge role the club plays in the life of the city, and it’s great that so many Saintees are getting involved. Oh When The Saints is a chance to celebrate our 2021 success and tell lots of interesting stories through the voices of the fans and some memorable club characters, I can’t wait to see what happens on stage.”
Commenting on his role in Oh When The Saints, lifelong Saints fan Colin McCredie said:
“As an actor growing up in Perth & supporting St Johnstone, getting to perform in Oh When the Saints at Perth Theatre is the equivalent of playing for Saints in the Scottish Cup Final!”
Martin McCormick said:
“On the surface of it, a football match and a play have some glaring similarities- for example, audiences are spectators, actors are the players, the director is the manager, the stage is the pitch and so on - but they are also a million miles apart. Plays are rehearsed and planned to be gripping and entertaining, but how many times have you left a scoreless draw, on a dreich Saturday thinking, “that was mince. I’m not going back”? I know I have. But we go back. Again and again and again to McDiarmid Park or Hampden or wherever; it’s the thrill of witnessing that last minute equaliser when all hope was lost. As a football fan and the writer of Oh When the Saints the challenge has been to make the script as gripping as a game of football but also to take the audience on an emotional journey that celebrates the club and the community. I want this play to speak directly to an audience irrespective of what they know about football or the Saints because we are never going to be able to replicate the experience of a football match. But what we can do is tell a story of what it feels like to care about your club so much on the biggest day ever in their history- May 17th 2014.”
Oh When The Saints is in Perth Theatre from Thursday 2 until Saturday 18 June. For tickets and info for Oh When The Saints click here, or call Perth Theatre Box Office on 01738 621031 or visit in-person between 10am and 4pm Monday to Friday.
Tuesday 26 April 2022