Martin Compston on BBC drama Mayflies: "Genuinely, it is terrifying"
Compston has opened up about starring in the adaptation of Andrew O'Hagan's acclaimed novel.
Martin Compston is set to appear in new Amazon Prime thriller The Rig in the new year, but it isn't his only upcoming new series over the next couple of months.
First, there is Mayflies, a brand new BBC drama adapting Andrew O'Hagan's book of the same name, and as seen in the latest trailer, it also stars Tony Curran and tells the story of lifelong friends Jimmy and Tully. 30 years after they became friends, Tully rings Jimmy with "the worst kind of news".
Compston and Curran spoke with RadioTimes.com and other press about the drama, and were asked whether they were worried about how fans of the book would react to their adaptation of the beloved story.
Compston said: "Genuinely, it is terrifying. But I think putting anything out, even if it wasn't an adaptation, is terrifying - when you're putting yourself out there and people are going to watch it. But particularly with a novel and as you say, something that's much loved and very quotable."
He continued: "Right from the off, the book’s split into those two timelines, and you've got so much more time with a novel. So you get to know the characters, get to fall in love with them, so when the inevitable starts to happen, then it is heartbreaking.
"We don't have that luxury with TV, so that's where we have our work cut out, me and Tony, because we're sort of in from the off. You need to connect with Jimmy and Tully pretty quickly and believe in their friendship. So yeah, it's definitely scary.
"And also with a novel, the wonderful thing about that is people's imagination, and they always imagine it differently. That's one of the great things about books but obviously you just hope you do it some sort of justice."
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Meanwhile, Curran added that the team have tried to "honour" the book as much as possible, and said that "people who have enjoyed the novel will hopefully connect and see a correlation between the two. Hopefully people will enjoy it".
Mayflies also stars Tracy Ifeachor (Showtrial), Tom Glynn-Carney (SAS Rogue Heroes) and Rian Gordon (Karen Pirie), as well as Ashley Jensen who was recently announced as the new lead in detective drama Shetland.
Mayflies airs on BBC One and BBC iPlayer at 9pm on 28th and 29th December 2022. For more news, interviews and features, visit our Drama hub, or find something to watch now with our TV Guide and Streaming Guide.
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Authors
James Hibbs is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering programmes across both streaming platforms and linear channels. He previously worked in PR, first for a B2B agency and subsequently for international TV production company Fremantle. He possesses a BA in English and Theatre Studies and an NCTJ Level 5 Diploma in Journalism.
