Colin McCredie on Perth Theatre, Saints & Murray’s Pies

Oh When The Saints started its 16-day show run on June 2nd. A drama written by Martin McCormick based on fan stories, club history and community involvement, surrounding the events of May 17th 2014. Even if you’re not a die-hard Saints fan, it’s a day ingrained into every Perthite’s knowledge. 

The drama sets out to tell the tales of what it’s like being a loyal fan of a club that isn’t always on the winning side. Directed by Lu Kemp & McCormick, starring Colin McRedie, Tom McGovern, Lorna Craig & Greer Montgomery. Propped up by a community cast of 15 – an authentic telling of Perth stories and our local club. 

The production has been in development for 2 years, with Colin McRedie involved from the early stages – a play he absolutely had to be a part of. We caught up with Colin to talk all things Saints, Theatre and Murray’s Pies! 

What was it like growing up in Perth? 

“It was great growing up in Perth; I lived up over in Gannochy. We had the tennis courts and plenty of places to play football, so I was always out and about, free to roam, pretending I was Kenny Dalglish. I grew up playing football. I actually wanted to be a footballer. Then my sister started working in Perth Theatre as an usherette; she got tickets to shows. I would go and see plays when I was a boy, and I got really into it. 

Later on, after drama school, my sister came back to work at Perth Theatre, and she started working with Andy Gray, another actor from Perth. 

I grew up idolising Andy and wanting to be an actor, so that was my route into the theatre. 

Were you always a Saints fan from a young age? 

Yeah, well, we grew up in Perth, but my dad was originally from Fife. We came to Perth with his work, dropping into the city when I was about 3. My brother and I were football daft, so we kept badgering my dad to take us to a game. Luckily he took us to see St Johnstone. 

“The first game we went to was in 1979 it was a midweek game against Dundee. It was a big game, and Saints were trying to avoid relegation, and Dundee were trying to get promoted. There was a big crowd, and this was also at the point when people still drank at games – so bottles were being thrown. There was peeing. You know, it was a bit rough and ready.”

It was a bit scary. But there was something a bit exciting about it. The floodlights came on, and there was a theatricality about it, and it totally hooked me in. 

And have you followed the team since then? 

Yeah totally! Obviously, when I grew up, we had the best of times, but mostly the worst. At that point, Saints were in the second league; they went up and down a few times. We were at the very bottom for a while. Then Muirton Park went, and we got McDiarmid Park. Then we got into the League Cup final about 20 years ago and got into Europe. We ended up with a succession of 7 to 8 semi-finals that we lost. 

You just sort of felt that we would always be the bridesmaid and never the bride. 

Then in 2014 we finally got to a final – and we won! After 140 years – it doesn’t make any sense, man. I didn’t believe it was going to happen. On the Sunday coming back to Perth, I was standing on Mill Street, and there were thousands of people following the bus. I just couldn’t believe I had witnessed Saints winning a trophy. 40,000 people rammed into Perth following an open-top bus. This was something that happened to other teams, not to Saints.  

Then we went and won a double, in the midst of a pandemic – you couldn’t have made it up. 

So how do you feel then about joining the production of OWTS – obviously the team and theatre are two things that are very close to you?

When I first started acting, I was in a production of Oliver at the theatre in 1984 – so that was nearly 40 years ago! So it feels as if it has come full circle. I’ve not worked at the Theatre for 15 years, and it means a lot to me to come back to the building, especially as the play is about the team that I love. I’ve been involved in the development of the play over the past couple of years. And even Andy Gray, he wasn’t a big football fan, but he was really keen when we were starting to discuss it that the play was about Perth, and community, and not just about football. 

Andy would have loved to have been in it had he not passed. I’m not sure there has ever been a play about Perth, about Perth people, about Perth stories on the stage in Perth. And although it’s hung on St Johnstone, it’s not just a play for football fans. 

There’s also so much community involvement with this production.

There will be 15 community cast in every show! We probably have people in the show from about 12 to 75. 

A lot of the stories that are in the play come from the development work with the community, the team talks, the stories that people have shared. Things that I didn’t know. Stories about why people are Saints fans, incidents that have happened, tied around us winning the cup in 2014.

It is a proper play; it’s not a daft football play. It will have funny bits in it, chants, Saints jokes, but it also stands up as a proper piece of drama. Even if you weren’t into Saints, and you came to the show, you would really enjoy the story. 

It is about commitment and family and following a team and never winning anything. Actually, it’s about the lows as much as it is about the highs – and why people keep going back every week. There’s more to football than just winning, especially if you support a diddy team. If you support Barca or Celtic, they win every week. We don’t. 

So you said earlier that you kind of took a hiatus from Perth Theatre, but were you involved quite a lot when you were younger? 

Yeah, so I started in plays. I was in Oliver, Peter Pan. Then I worked in the box office and Theatre. Then I started working backstage when I was still at school. I went to the Youth Theatre; I would help put sets up and hand posters out. 

In secondary school, I was in the theatre every day; Ewan McGregor was a year older than me. And Ewan was doing similar things. He had left school; he was in plays and working backstage. We just wanted to be around the theatre. 

“It’s really funny, at Youth Theatre myself and Ewan McGregor were the only boys. And now he is in Hollywood winning Golden Globes, and I’m back at the Theatre doing a play about Saints. Where did it all go wrong for him?”

There’s just something so warm and wonderful about Theatre…

As a Saints fan and someone from Perth, I actively pushed to be in the show. I wanted to be part of it because I wanted to make sure that it was right. And hopefully we have got it right. I feel as if I am a bit of an insider who can make changes and help make it authentic. 

So do you have a most memorable Saints game that you have ever been to? 

Either my first game against Dundee, or it would have to be the cup final in 2014. Winning the Scottish Cup in front of 15,000 Saints fans, and I was there with my daughter and friends. People that I had been at football with for 25-odd years. It happened to us as a group, and I was able to celebrate it with friends and family. 

Aside from Saints and Perth Theatre, what else do you love about Perth?

I love going up Kinnoull Hill. I love the River Tay and walking over the railway bridge. Love a wee pint in The Old Ship Inn, and I love going to Murray’s the bakers – nothing better than a good pie and cake selection!