***** (5 stars)
“Beautiful”
A quiet, gentle, understated and deeply moving account of a young man’s first love interwoven with an account of the filming of Noël Coward’s Brief Encounter at Carnforth railway station in Lancashire, towards the end of World War Two.
Our Martin grew up in Carnforth, always painfully conscious of not fitting in to his family – the total
opposite of his dad, who doesn’t understand him and makes fun of his use of ‘big words’. Mum and sisters Beryl and Muriel are there, but don’t seem to play a big part in this quiet lad’s life. He tries to enlist but is rejected on account of his flat feet: not quite eighteen, what is he to do with his life?
It’s his mum who spots the advert for ‘background artists’ in a film to be made locally: Martin applies, and his life out of the spotlight begins. It’s fascinating to see the filming of this iconic movie through the eyes of someone who doesn’t know what an enduring success it will be, and is surprised to be seeing Trevor Howard and Celia Johnson as real human beings, not celluloid idols.
In my pre-Edinburgh days I did some ‘walk on work’ as it was then called: there was an awful lot of waiting around, very little excitement, and virtually no contact with the stars of the pieces. Martin, to his surprise, developed a good relationship with Celia Johnson, who felt it necessary to apologise to him for her London-eyes dismissal of Carnforth as ‘the back of beyond’ – and ends up playing the part of fairy godmother…
But it’s not Martin’s relationship with Celia that holds our attention, but the tentative one that develops with one of his fellow background artists, Hugh. It’s sweetly and tenderly described – and flourishes largely thanks to the intervention of Miss Johnson herself…. But I don’t want to reveal everything – you’ll have to come and see this bittersweet story for yourself. Suffice it to say that the parallels with Brief Encounter’s story line are subtly drawn and, if possible, even more moving.
Mark Kydd has written, and performs, a superb show which tugs at the heartstrings without ever becoming saccharine or predictable. The way he creates the atmosphere of the time, bringing in details from stage, screen and real life, is masterly, and we follow Martin’s career in theatreland [always in the background] with great interest. The cheeky lad from Carnforth may not hit the headlines, but his life is quietly satisfying – and the show’s final moments are both melancholy and comforting.
Mark gives a truly memorable performance as the quiet man who is happy to live in the background and who manages to make a good life for himself, even if it’s not the stuff that dreams are made of.
The run ends on Sunday – put yourself out to go and see this, it’s both seriously good and potentially eye-opening for those of the rainbow community who’ve never had to live in the shadows, watch their pronouns, and constantly have one eye looking out for potential trouble.
What a lovely way to end my Fringe 2026!
Thank you, Martin: I’m glad you came into the foreground to present this show.
Our Martin in the Background, The Fringe, Scottish Storytelling Centre, Venue 30 , Run Ended, for more information go to: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/our-martin-in-the-background
ScotsGay Arts 