Martin Carter, a 63-year-old MML undergraduate, is Cambridge theatre’s new big shot. Studying French and Italian, Martin was born on the 22 November 1958 and despite claiming he doesn’t believe “any of that jiggery-pokery,” describes himself as “on the cusp of Sagittarius and Scorpio.”

After an almost forty-year hiatus from education, Martin’s inspiration to embark on a Cambridge degree stemmed from an ambition to speak French and Italian fluently, which has been driven by the fact him and his wife used to have a house in Italy. Replacing the Italian scene for the French, Martin and his wife bought a house in Nice, where he would like to talk about more complex things with his French friends who can’t speak English.

Martin hopes to secure a spot at the university of Côte d’Azur for his year abroad next year so that he and his wife, who would come with him for his “French excursion”, could spend their time in their little house near Nice.

Not every undergraduate comes to the university with a wife, but, while Martin said it is “unusual to be married alongside doing a degree”, the last time he did a degree at Southampton they got married. This isn’t the first time Martin is a mature student at university: he started his first degree in Politics at 22, and was always the self-proclaimed “old git.”

Before coming to Cambridge, Martin was a chancellor accountant. He described this experience as “having its moments,” adding that “once every three or four months I’d have an interesting day.” Never a fan of the technical side of things and “never very good at maths”, Martin enjoyed the “more ambassadorial” side of his job — in other words, he “had the gift of the gab.”

Martin said his first term was difficult – he had to “work [his] nuts off.” Now his second Michaelmas term has begun, his wife jokes “it’s like living with an alien.” Despite this, Martin is still drawn to the prestige of a degree — although that has not come without its fair share of imposter syndrome. When it dawned on him all the other “wiz-kids” were also working hard he was reminded that he was a 63-year-old “freak” studying MML.

The part of the Cambridge experience Martin isn’t a fan of, however, is formals. He described them as a bit “school dinner-ish” and he finds the service “quite disdainful”. He doesn’t enjoy the experience of suddenly having a plate “banged” in front of him, and instead prefers having it “presented to him.” He claims this is just “what happens when you get old.”

Although, everything is made better by his “bestie” Olivia. Martin explained that their friendship “all started with a text.” After finding out he also had an Italian A-Level on a Messenger group chat, Olivia, who is a fellow MML student at St. John’s, sent Martin a text suggesting they “stick close”.

Concerned that Olivia’s reply to “what school does he go to?” Would have to be “he’s 63” if Olivia talked to her parents about their friendship, Martin proposed that they meet up with his wife and Olivia’s mum and dad to have lunch. They did exactly that in June last year, and now Olivia’s mum and Martin’s wife are “besties” too.

Martin is also thankful to Olivia for keeping him in the loop about plans and events. Just last weekend, Martin and Olivia, along with a group of 10 MML’ers who are trying to have brunch at every college, enjoyed some bacon and sausages at Selwyn. Olivia also made sure Martin and his wife were invited to Eurovision night.

“it doesn’t matter if you’re eight or 80, when you’re pulling together for the best production you can, age goes out the window”

There is one dividing factor in their friendship, though, and it’s not age. Martin, who enjoys “pubbing rather than clubbing” and makes an appearance at the Blue Ball in Grantchester most Friday nights, said “Olivia is teetotal and that doesn’t really work for me.” He even said his mum has tried to convince him to introduce her to vodka and tonics.

The “great leveller” for Martin, however, has been Cambridge theatre. He said “it doesn’t matter if you’re eight or 80, when you’re pulling together for the best production you can, age goes out the window.” Martin, who played Earnshaw in Wuthering Heights this week, has already been involved in seven productions, such as playing an old man with early onset dementia in Small Family Business. In fact, he said he was already practising his song Posh from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang for his Treasure Island audition, and has his sights set on the Footlights.

Other than on the stage, you’ll spot Martin in his Wolfson college puffer around town — he said “I got to Wolfson, I’ll bloody wear the coat.” One place you won’t find Martin though is on Facebook, the “social commitment” it sets you up for is not a responsibility he wants. He’s prepared for the stage, but he’s not ready to be asked “Martin, why didn’t you like my post?”

Post-graduation, Martin doesn’t have any fixed plans. The thought of writing a memoir has crossed his mind, but he’d also like to spend more time in France.