Derry Girl Saoirse-Monica Jackson: "Yes, we have a sense of severe humor" | Television and radio

In Derry, the face of Saoirse-Monica Jackson is painted through a wall several meters high, alongside the other four main members of the cast. Derry Girls. The mural was unveiled earlier this year to celebrate the second season of Channel 4's hit comedy and was warmly welcomed by the residents of the city of Northern Ireland. They are, it seems, proud of how Lisa McGee's series put Derry in the spotlight – and for a more positive reason than those usually portrayed in the city's murals, traditionally centered on the Troubles.

When I ask Jackson – who grew up in Derry – what she thinks about it, she has almost no say, she just said "amazing."

"I would love to have a more articulate answer," she apologizes, "but there is a mural in my hometown after this show – who could have imagined it would have happened?"

Featured in Derry Girls has changed his life for his young star – who, at age 25, is more than ten years older than the schoolgirl she plays. The sitcom takes place in the mid-90s and follows the character of Jackson, Erin, her cousin of space cadets, Orla (Louisa Harland), the nervous Clare (Nicola Coughlan), Michelle (Jamie-Lee O & # Donnell, hungry for men and vodka). ) and Michelle's disconcerted English cousin, James (Dylan Llewellyn), as they face the usual trials of adolescence – as well as the more specific of growing up Catholic during the Troubles. But whether it's tinkering with chip shops, offending Protestant boys during bridging courses or beheading religious icons, girls (and James) reliably tackle all kinds of problems.

Derry Girls was a huge success: the first series was the biggest launch of the comedy on Channel 4 in 14 years, the most watched TV series in Northern Ireland since the release of the disc in 2002, and was taken over by Netflix, which allowed him to reach an international audience. After such success, it's not always easy – but only two episodes of the second series gave rise to a deafening buzz: the five-star critics (the guardian calling it "hysterically funny and sometimes deeply moving"), social media worship and 3.2 million viewers for the first episode.

And no wonder. Derry Girls is a tonic: frank, coarse, lively, and very very funny. "It portrays Derry so well," says Jackson. "Yes, we have a sense of severe humor and Lisa is really going there. People are mental in Derry: they will just tell you exactly what they think. Girls are simple and hilariously cruel or contemptuous – and parents are even worse ("you can not call Childline every time your mother threatens to kill you") – but underneath there is great affection and loyalty. . As you look at him, you fall in love with the girls, their parents, even Sister Michael, who is brutally lost and who runs their convent.

Jackson has always had a good feeling about the second series; nothing but reading the scripts had put it aside. And she was able to enjoy more shooting: "Honestly, the first time, I was in a shellshock state and I was just scared.

As Erin, she became famous for her contorted facial expressions: wrinkled nose, wrinkled wrinkles, eyes raised to suggest absolute contempt, lust or the deep sense of injustice in the heart of adolescence. In person, Jackson is unquestionably a little more content: quick to smile and laugh, but also thoughtful, even cautious.

"I'm definitely still finding my way as an actress and as a young woman," she says. Later, she will confess her love for writing poetry almost timidly – far from the intrepid Erin, who, in the last episode, throws her self-proclaimed doggerel with stubborn conviction.

But Jackson insists that she has the best gang to help her find her way: the chemistry on the screen between Derry's girls is as strong in real life. "They are good craic! They are funny, confident and very comfortable with who they are. I would say more than me.

Before the show, Jackson had spent nine months without work, selling HelloFresh boxes of recipes at home in London. She still has a serious case of impostor syndrome. "I know everyone feels it, especially girls, but I'm afraid I'll be discovered, they'll say that they've changed their minds."

Nevertheless, she hastens to say that she has not had too much to do: since she graduated from the Arden School of Theater in Manchester and moved to London, she had a lot of work, on stage (including the mega hit of The pbader in the West End) and on the screen. And his parents – his mother councilor and his father engineer – have always supported him, even if "it was a real hard love". Her mother insisted on getting her bachelor's degree in Derry; After that, Jackson headed to Arden, chosen because it contained a comedy module.

So comedy has always been what she was attracted to? "I did not know if I thought my skills were there, but it was definitely something I wanted to try," she says. Derry Girls Immersion is total – Jackson pledging to embark on the physical and deceptive side of the series.

Of Young people at Inbetweenersthere is a long tradition of young men who are grotesque or just rude in comedy. We rarely see this with young women. Does she think there is still pressure to appear pouted and perfect? "Yes, 100%," Jackson agrees. "I'm sure it will be difficult for my next job because I'm so used to having a double chin on this one! I'm not saying that we are not beautiful, we are, "she says with a laugh, but we are not afraid to be true.In these moments of exacerbated comedy, we are not afraid to be ugly and distort our face. "

Still, Derry's daughters do not have to worry about their gurning expressions or fashion faux pas (gloriously recognizable by anyone who was a teenager in the '90s) being preserved forever on Instagram. "There is so much more pressure on young women now," Jackson agrees. "It must be so hard to be 13, to see the format of what is perceived as beautiful."

She finds social media tricky. "I'm really scared on Twitter. I'm a little better on Instagram, but not great – and I feel the pressure of that. She learns that the follow-up of young actors on Instagram is now taken into account in the casting decision. "For me, it's so disgusting. What is the difference, then, between us and a Island of love competitor?"

Derry Girls was also commended for providing a new perspective on Northern Ireland. When Jackson returns now, the people in the bars shake his hand. But she also finds that they often feel compelled to share their own memories of the Troubles. "Sometimes they are not funny stories. Sometimes these are not funny stories at all. Jackson pauses. "But sometimes they are very funny."

And the Troubles are a frequent source of comedy in Derry GirlsErin's aunt moans that bomb warnings interfere with the appointment of her tanning salon to Michelle coveting the Orange walkers ("there's something really bady in the fact that they hate us so much") . Nothing is so bad that you can not get rid of it. That's the way he grew up, Jackson recalls. There was a checkpoint at the end of the road, British soldiers on the streets. "You laugh or cry, do not you? People have made a joke about it, and that's all you can do. "

She also talks about Derry's "culture ma", the very strong and funny women raised by the Troubles. "There's a real sense of generosity in Derry, because people do not have a lot of them – but they remember when we have nothing, so they're ready to help each other." the others. "The scene where Erin's ma washes all the girls' uniforms while they stand in their panties, she says, bangs on it.

The Ma culture also meant that you could not do anything: "If you were not taken by your own mother, you would be taken by someone else. Our parents formed this very united group, like sergeant majors. But that also allowed Jackson to have the biggest fan club. When she made a production of Of mice and Men In Edinburgh in 2016, 42 people took the plane to watch.

The conversation inevitably turns to Brexit. Jackson is worried about what this could mean for Northern Ireland. "It would be quite mental that this border be restored," she says. "Nobody wants to be divided again. Even if you want a border for political reasons, you do not want a border [because] it's a bloody inconvenience! The only good thing about Brexit is to have enlightened Northern Ireland and some of the inconsistencies in its political situation: homobadual marriage and abortion are still illegal, for example.

Since its appearance on Netflix, the show has certainly attracted Derry's attention to the entire world – even though viewers have had difficulty with the focus to watch with subtitles. "If there's anything I'm proud of, it's that we've made the word" ride "universal," says Jackson, laughing at the idea that teenagers around the world are adopting the term "badual attractiveness". 'North Ireland.

More seriously, it gives hope that the series has been "taken to the heart of people" everywhere, from Brazil to Canada. "I think it has to do with the fact that it's funny, young women. The world is ready for this now and happy days – because we are going nowhere. "

Derry Girls is on Channel 4 on Tuesday evening. The first series is available on channel4.com