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Martina Laird

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Martina Laird
Born1971 (age 52–53)
Port of Spain, Trinidad
NationalityTrinidadian
EducationUniversity of Kent at Canterbury;
Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art
Occupation(s)Actress, director, acting teacher
Years active1993–present
Websitewww.martinalaird.com

Martina Laird (born 1971) is a Trinidadian British actress of stage, film and television.

Early life and education

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Martina Laird was born in 1971[1] in Port of Spain, Trinidad. Her interest in drama began early, when she was seven years old, and from the age of 13 she studied with such local luminaries as Beryl McBurnie, and regularly attended performances at the Little Carib Theatre.[2]

At the age of 17, Laird went to the United Kingdom, having won a national scholarship to study French at the University of Kent at Canterbury, and she did drama as part of her degree course.[3] Having told her parents of her acting ambitions at the age of 20, on the advice of Derek Walcott, who was a family friend, Laird went on to attend the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art.[4]

Career

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After beginning her acting career on the stage, she landed a role in the BBC TV drama series Casualty, most memorably playing the character Comfort for several years.[5][6] She also featured in other popular television series, including Holby City and EastEnders.

Among her notable stage credits are as Sophia in Errol John's Moon on a Rainbow Shawl, directed by Michael Buffong, in a 2012 production at the Royal National Theatre,[7][8] and Marcus Gardley's The House that Will Not Stand at the Tricycle Theatre (2014).[9][10][11]

She performed in seven Shakespeare plays over two years in 2016 and 2017: The Taming of the Shrew, Romeo and Juliet, Julius Caesar, The Tempest, Henry IV, Coriolanus, and All's Well That Ends Well.[12]

In 2019, Laird appeared in the August Wilson play King Hedley II, alongside Lenny Henry, at Stratford East.[13]

In October 2023, she featured in a revival of Mustapha Matura's play Meetings at the Orange Tree Theatre.[14][15]

Awards

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Laird has won a Screen Nation Award and a Michael Elliot Trust Award.[16]

Filmography

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Year Title Role Notes
1991 EastEnders Court Clerk Episode: 14th Jan 1993 Trial of Nick Cotton
1993 Harry Friend Series 1, Episode 5
1993–1999 The Bill Sandra Newton / Marlene Franklin / Marcia Walsh 3 episodes
1995 The Governor Zania 3 episodes
One for the Road Ruth Episode: "Prague"
1995–2006, 2016 Casualty Comfort Jones / Comfort Newton / Darleen Devern 207 episodes
1996 The Knock Nadine Charles Series 2, Episode 2
Thief Takers Ruth Episode: "Wasteland"
Dangerfield WPC Episode: "Inside Out"
1998 Peak Practice Dr. Toray
Jonathan Creek Bridget Episode: "Danse Macabre"
1999 Wing and a Prayer Dee Dee Bastiani 3 episodes
1999–2000 A Touch of Frost Miriam Madikane Episodes: "Line of Fire (Parts 1&2)"
1999–2005 Holby City Comfort Newton / Darleen Devern 3 episodes
2000, 2011 My Family Darci / Doctor Kelly
2003 Children in Need Comfort Series 1, Episode 4
2005 Casualty@Holby City Comfort Newton 5 episodes
2007 Deadbeat Detective Clayderman
2009 Free Agents Series 1, Episode 6
Monday Monday
2010 Shameless Michelle 2 episodes
Missing Pamela Rutter Series 2, Episode 3
Doctors Kathy Nicholls Episode: "Like Mothers, Like Daughters"
Forget Me Not Doctor
2011 Coronation Street Colette Hankinson
Blitz Forensic Officer
London's Burning Rachel Television film
2013 Feds Coach McKenzie
2015 The Dumping Ground Mrs Underwood
2016 Jericho Epiphany 8 episodes
EastEnders DC Angie Rice 8 episodes
2017 Padlock Natasha Short film
2017–2018 The Donmar Warehouse's All-Female Shakespeare Trilogy Alonso / Worcester / Gadshill / Cassius
2019 Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators Claudia Farrel
Great Performances Cassius
The Bay (TV series) Bernie Chambers TV series
2020 Summerland Older Vera
2021 Boxing Day Janet
Still We Thrive Short film
2023 Unforgotten Ebele Falade Series 5, episode 1
The Little Mermaid Lashana
2023 Dreamland Diane TV series

Theatre

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References

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  1. ^ Shimmon, Katie (30 September 2003). "College Days". The Guardian.
  2. ^ Gordon, Zahra (10 January 2013). "Artist with a duty to truth". Trinidad and Tobago Guardian. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  3. ^ Myskow, Nina (2014). "The real real me: Martina Laird reveals all to Nina Myskow; I used to binge on food. My mum put a lock on the fridge but I picked it". The Free Library. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  4. ^ Fraser, Mark (15 April 2013). "Actress Living Legacy". Trinidad Express.
  5. ^ Scott, Catherine (5 February 2014). "Following a dream to stage and TV". Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  6. ^ "Interviews: Martina Laird". Casualty. BBC. December 2004. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  7. ^ Hitchings, Henry (15 March 2012). "Moon on a Rainbow Shawl, National, SE1 - review". Evening Standard. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  8. ^ Kellaway, Kate (18 March 2012). "Moon on a Rainbow Shawl; Can We Talk about This?; Shivered – review". The Observer.
  9. ^ Billington, Michael (20 October 2012). "The House That Will Not Stand review – unlike any other play in London". The Guardian.
  10. ^ Hitchings, Henry (20 October 2014). "The House That Will Not Stand, Tricycle - theatre review | The whole cast dazzles in Marcus Gardley's play which depicts rivalry, jealousy and racial prejudice in 1830s New Orleans". Evening Standard.
  11. ^ Barnett, Laura (22 October 2014). "The House that Will Not Stand, Tricycle Theatre, review: 'a drama cum ghost story'". The Telegraph.
  12. ^ Minamore, Bridget (8 January 2018). "Martina Laird: 'Women are used to compromising, but the cost is becoming too great'". The Stage. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
  13. ^ "On Stage Interview: Martina Laird in King Hedley II Stratford East". Alt A Review. 14 June 2019. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  14. ^ Akbar, Arifa (19 October 2023). "Meetings review – cooking with postcolonialism in Mustapha Matura's sparky drama". The Guardian.
  15. ^ Mitchell, Tamika (31 October 2023). "Martina Laird Talks … 'Meetings' @ The Orange Tree Theatre". The British Black List. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
  16. ^ "A Small Place: In Conversation with Martina Laird". Gate Theatre. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  17. ^ "The White Devil". Theatricalia. April–June 1996. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  18. ^ Billington, Michael (21 June 2022). "The Five Wives of Maurice Pinder". The Guardian.
  19. ^ "Othello (2007)". BBA Shakespeare. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  20. ^ "The House that Will Not Stand". Kiln Theatre. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  21. ^ Wood, Alex (28 November 2017). "Cast announced for All's Well That Ends Well at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse". Whats On Stage. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
  22. ^ "Shebeen". Theatre Royal Stratford East. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  23. ^ "King Hedley II". Stratford East. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  24. ^ "15 Heroines – Jermyn Street Theatre". London Theatre 1. 9 November 2020. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
  25. ^ "MEETINGS By Mustapha Matura, directed by Kalungi Ssebandeke". Orange Tree Theare. 11 November 2023.
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