Great granddaughter of Irish playwright Sean O’Casey stars in BBC drama

The great granddaughter of Irish literary legend Sean O’Casey is following in his creative footsteps and making her own way in the arts.

Agnes O’Casey is an up-and-coming actress and is starring in the acclaimed BBC drama Ridley Road.

The series is set in 1960s London and O’Casey plays the character of Vivien Epstein who is a Jewish hairdresser who has travelled to the UK capital in search of her former lover.

She said: “The idea that my first job would be so perfectly in line with everything I believe in is a dream come true.

“I was drawn to Vivien for many reasons. She’s clever without realising she’s clever.

“She’s not particularly eloquent but she is truthful and principled. You watch her on this journey as she discovers her own ability.”

O’Casey added that, because of the pandemic, she was spared the nerve-racking experience of having to audition face to face with the BBC’s casting director.

Instead, she was able to do so from the relative comfort of her own home via a zoom meeting.

She said: “I didn’t have to go into a big, strange, intimidating building and wait in reception. I just opened my own laptop in my own student bedroom… and the stars aligned.

O’Casey stars opposite Tom Varey who Game of Thrones fans will remember as Lord Cley Cerwyn.

Varey described Ridley Road as being: “The universal message of standing up for what you believe.”

Sean O’Casey was a playwright and dramatist who wrote extensively about Dublin’s working classes in the early 20th century.

He is acclaimed as one of Ireland’s all-time great writers, click here for some of his best quotes.

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