THE DREAM DEBUTANTE

Ridley Road!

You hadn’t even graduated when you landed the part…

It was incredible. I was at drama school in Dublin preparing our final showcase when lockdown happened. I went home to Devon and made my peace with probably not working for ages. But Ridley Road’s director had seen me audition for something else and called me in. It felt like a dream.

Tell us more about you.

I’m the great-granddaughter of [Irish playwright] Seán O’casey and I feel huge pride that he grew up in terrible poverty and today his plays are performed at places like the National Theatre. When I was seven my grandmother took me to see his play The Shadow of A Gunman and I recall thinking, ‘I have to act this!’ I always feel he’s looking after me and changed my surname to O’casey. My dad was, like, ‘This is so unnecessary!’ but there aren’t many O’caseys left.

So acting was always the goal?

I spent two years auditioning unsuccessfully for drama schools, so to please my parents I went to Edinburgh University. But I only lasted one year before I won the place in Dublin and left.

Tell us about

I play Vivien, a hairdresser in 1960s Manchester who follows the love of her life to London and discovers he’s part of the anti-fascist 62 Group. She gets involved too and goes undercover.

What’s next for you?

There are a few unconfirmed things, which is fine – I feel I’ve had the opposite of a lockdown and need a moment to sit.

Ridley Road will be on BBC One later this year