Our Martin in the Background
★★★★☆ Immersive
Scottish Storytelling Centre (Venue 30): Wed 26 – Sun 30 Aug 2026
Review by Shuang Ning Tan
Mark Kydd presents his solo show Our Martin in the Background at the Scottish Storytelling Centre until this Sunday, narrating a queer love story which sparks to life in a railway station.
Written and performed by Kydd, the monologue follows Martin, a “background artist” or film extra, who meets a stranger on the set of the 1945 film Brief Encounter. That stranger is Hugh, a stand-in for the male lead Trevor Howard. It’s not long before Martin and Hugh begin a forbidden romance.
Mark Kydd in Our Martin in the Background. Pic Supplied.
Mark Kydd is, without doubt, an engaging storyteller. From his chair, he commands the room with confidence and poise. Whether he’s singing Underneath the Arches or reciting Brahn Boots, Kydd projects his voice clearly without being forceful.
Kydd’s greatest talent is subtlety: he manages to express deep emotion with small gestures. There is no theatrical prancing around. He simply sits there and lets the story wash over the audience. Every time he stands up or sips from his glass, it feels significant.
The story works so well because Martin is an immensely likeable character. He is a starry-eyed youth with a witty sense of humour, someone you can’t help but root for. Martin feels like a real person, baring his soul for the world to see.
vivid portrait
Kydd’s script is beautifully written. It paints a vivid portrait of mid-twentieth-century England, and Kydd further enhances the mood by incorporating atmospheric lighting and audio at key moments.
Yet, it often feels as though the script is trying to persuade us to feel something, instead of evoking genuine emotion. Every character except Martin comes across as underdeveloped. When a family member dies, it feels sad when it should be poignant. And, despite having all the right ingredients for a great romantic tragedy, the show never quite manages to convince us that this is a love worth pining for, for more than twenty years.
Compared to the romance in Brief Encounter itself, the love story in Our Martin in the Background is close, but no cigar. Even so, it is likely to satisfy queer romance fans; and, in any case, it is an excellent character study enriched by Kydd’s talented performance.
Running time: One hour (no interval).
Scottish Storytelling Centre (George Mackay Brown Library), 43-45 High Street EH1 1SR (Venue 30).
Wednesday 26 – Sunday 30 August 2026.
Daily: 4.30pm.
Tickets and details: Book here at EdFringe.com.
Tickets direct from venue: Book here.
Facebook: @mark.kydd.3
Mark Kydd Instagram: @markkydd
Mark Kydd in Our Martin in the Background. Pic Supplied.
ENDS
