Cat loves latest Oran Mor role

But that is not to say the actress is battle weary; far from it.

In fact, she can't wait to get back out there and face her latest audience, starring in The Happiest Day of Brendan Smillie's Life this week at the Oran Mor, Glasgow.

And she believes Brendan Smillie to be one of the best lunchtime plays she has worked on.

"There is something quite special about it," she says. "It's funny, it's very heightened, but it also has real heart. It is about three lonely people, all lonely in their own special way."

The story, by Catherine Grosvenor, centres on Brendan (Ross Allan), who leads a sheltered life - but one day decides to get married. However, his older brother, Liam (Steven Duffy) does not know about his brother's love life.

"Liam, we discover, has dominated Brendan all his life; he puts him in his place, and cotton wools him," says Cat. "Now he is terrified about what will happen to Brendan and we see his reaction."

Just to add fun to the mix, Cat arrives in the form of Jenny Jones, Brendan's wedding planner.

"Jenny loves crisps and Ovaltine and has great enthusiasm for life, and a great energy. She is not a great wedding planner but what she lacks in talent she makes up for with enthusiasm.

"However, the real question the play asks is 'How much do you look out for your sibling? How much do you let them live their own lives?'"

Cat, 30, has a brother, Michael, who's four years older. And he recently married. So did she fear for her brother going his own way?

"Not like Liam does," she says, grinning. "We are quite close though. Michael got married in September and made such a great speech and he mentioned me in it, so it was special.

"Michael doesn't express his emotions in the way I do, but here he was emoting. And I didn't become jealous of my brother's new wife. The truth is I'm in love with his wife, Kim. She is great."

It's not surprising Cat Crozier is almost an omnipresent at Oran Mor. Her performance levels are consistently high, from drama to comedy.

Indeed, she has done things with - and to - panto characters that are almost imaginable.

Over the years, her Wizard Of Oz Dorothy, for example, was a revelation; Cat played her as a sex-starved siren in red shoes.

She says: "I loved Dorothy. I think it worked because I have a sweet face and she would come out with all this sex stuff.

"I also enjoyed Snow White, who carried a Kalashnikov."

Who can tell in the world of acting?

"That is what I love about the business," she says. "I can play a police officer one minute, then an accountant and the next week be a Roman centurion."

Or a semi-useless wedding planner?"Exactly. And by playing these people I get the chance to work out what makes them tick."

And also what makes her tick?

"I guess so. What I do know is I didn't feel comfortable growing up until I started to act. And I do wonder about the psychology behind it. It is not necessarily hiding, but the chance to have fun being someone else is certainly a big attraction."

Cat, who grew up in Canada and still speaks with a hybrid accent, has certainly been having fun in recent times.

During the summer she worked on the BBC sketch show What's Funny About The Indie Referendum? and radio play Moyamensing: Scenes From The Life, Death and Dreams Of Edgar Allan Poe, in which she plays five characters.

"The work has been great," she says, "but of course you always want to do more."

With good work comes recognition, and even better work. And fame and fortune?

"I don't want to be famous," she says. "The thought of not being able to go to the shops frightens me a little."

She pauses, thinks for a moment and smiles.

"You know what? I'm talking bulls***. I've always wanted to do a major cult sci-fi and go on to do the Comic Con circuit. So, yes, I'll take a piece of fame."

Meantime, she's with Brendan Smillie, in what must be the longest titled play she's ever worked on?

"No, not at all!" she says. "That was in Canada four years ago with The Man Who Went To Work One Day And Got Eaten By A Bear. Now that really was a mouthful."

l The Happiest Day Of Brendan Smillie's Life, Oran Mor, until Saturday.