Martina Laird

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

Martina Laird
Born	1971 (age 52–53) Port of Spain, Trinidad
Nationality	Trinidadian
Education	University of Kent at Canterbury; Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art
Occupation(s)	Actress, director, acting teacher
Years active	1993–present
Website	www.martinalaird.com

Early life and education

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

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

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

Filmography

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

• The White Devil, Royal Shakespeare Company, 1996^[17]
• Three Hours After Marriage, Royal Shakespeare Company, 1996–1997
• Troilus and Cressida, Royal Shakespeare Company, 1996–1997
• Breath Boom, Royal Court Theatre, 2000
• The Five Wives of Maurice Pinder, Royal National Theatre, 2007^[18]
• Bianca in Othello, Donmar Warehouse, London, 2007–2008^[19]
• Moon on a Rainbow Shawl, Royal National Theatre, 2012
• The House that Will Not Stand, Tricycle Theatre, 2014^[20]
• All's Well That Ends Well, Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, 2018^[21]
• Shebeen, Stratford East, 2018^[22]
• King Hedley II, Stratford East, 2019^[23]
• 15 Heroines, Jermyn Street Theatre, 2020^[24]
• Meetings, by Mustapha Matura, Orange Tree Theatre, 2023.^[25]

References

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.

External links

• Martina Laird official website
• Martina Laird on Twitter
• Martina Laird at IMDb
• Ronald C. Emrit, "Martina Laird", Best of Trinidad.
• "Advice to my Younger Self: Martina Laird" (video). Bush Theatre, 8 April 2020.