Still Game actress Jane McCarry says fans of her gossiping alter ego Isa will be able to hear behind-the-scenes tales during her upcoming tour.
The star is set to bring her one-woman show to venues across Fife, Angus and Perthshire later this year.
In an interview with The Courier, she has revealed how the tour came together and what fans can expect.
The Craiglang stalwart has been a fixture of many Scots lives ever since the hit BBC comedy arrived on screens, but few have seen the actress behind the costume.
And Jane, 52, admits many are still surprised when they meet her for the first time as they usually expect to see a woman in her 70s.
‘People think I’ll look like Isa’
She said: “People always think I’m going to look like Isa, even if am getting more like her as the years pass, so it’s nice to go along.
“I love the bit afterwards, getting to know people a wee bit and hearing stories.
“People feel like they know the characters and they were part of their lives growing up.
“But that’s because growing up, all of us had older people in our life and Still Game reflected that.
“It just so happens we were from Glasgow but it could be set absolutely anywhere. It related to everybody in some way.”
While Jane has toured with her Still Game co-stars, she also enjoys getting out on her own.
She said: “You think about how you’ll fill the time – but the problem is I run out of time.
“There’s a lot about Still Game, but also a lot about real life and other jobs.”
The show is a development of something Jane first performed in Aberdeen with fellow comic Bill Dewar.
She said: “I did a couple of ‘evening with’ shows with Bill Dewar, I was terrified but I really enjoyed it. Bill is great at bringing different aspects of life out.
“It inspired me, and I thought to myself I could tour it and develop it into a one-woman show.
“I think there’s so many things people want to know about Still Game, but there’s all the other things they want to know about – women in particular.”
Jane has chosen a number of small venues, deliberately visiting towns where comedians do not often perform.
She added: “It’s awfully Glasgow-centric sometimes with things around the central belt. That shouldn’t be the case.
Past touring Scottish schools
“I used to do the Baldy Bane Theatre Company in my 20s. We had the best time travelling about drinking, eating, laughing and telling stories.
“Because it was going around primary schools you got to see all these wee places – what a gift.
“You never made a bean but it was the time of your life because you got to see your country.”
Tickets are available for the show online.
