Martina Laird

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Martina Laird
Born1971 (age 53–54)
Port of Spain, Trinidad
NationalityTrinidadian
Education University of Kent at Canterbury;
Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art
Occupation(s)Actress, director, acting teacher
Years active1993–present
Website www.martinalaird.com

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

Contents

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), directed by Indhu Rubasingham. [9] [10] [11]

Laird 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 the Theatre Royal Stratford East. [13]

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

Awards

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

Filmography

YearTitleRoleNotes
1991 EastEnders Court ClerkEpisode: 14th Jan 1993 Trial of Nick Cotton
1993 Harry FriendSeries 1, Episode 5
1993–1999 The Bill Sandra Newton / Marlene Franklin / Marcia Walsh3 episodes
1995 The Governor Zania3 episodes
One for the RoadRuthEpisode: "Prague"
1995, 1999, 2001-2006, 2016 Casualty Pauline / Darleen Devern / Comfort Jones / Comfort Newton207 episodes
1996 The Knock Nadine CharlesSeries 2, Episode 2
Thief Takers RuthEpisode: "Wasteland"
Dangerfield WPCEpisode: "Inside Out"
1998 Peak Practice Dr. Toray
Jonathan Creek BridgetEpisode: "Danse Macabre"
1999 Wing and a Prayer Dee Dee Bastiani3 episodes
1999–2000 A Touch of Frost Miriam MadikaneEpisodes: "Line of Fire (Parts 1&2)"
1999–2005 Holby City Comfort Newton / Darleen Devern3 episodes
2000, 2011 My Family Darci / Doctor Kelly
2003 Children in Need ComfortSeries 1, Episode 4
2005 Casualty@Holby City Comfort Newton5 episodes
2007 Deadbeat Detective Clayderman
2009 Free Agents Series 1, Episode 6
Monday Monday
2010 Shameless Michelle2 episodes
Missing Pamela RutterSeries 2, Episode 3
Doctors Kathy NichollsEpisode: "Like Mothers, Like Daughters"
Forget Me Not Doctor
2011 Coronation Street Colette Hankinson
BlitzForensic Officer
London's BurningRachelTelevision film
2013FedsCoach McKenzie
2015 The Dumping Ground Mrs Underwood
2016JerichoEpiphany8 episodes
EastEnders DC Angie Rice8 episodes
2017PadlockNatashaShort film
2017–2018The Donmar Warehouse's All-Female Shakespeare TrilogyAlonso / Worcester / Gadshill / Cassius
2019 Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators Claudia Farrel
Great PerformancesCassius
The Bay (TV series) Bernie ChambersTV series
2020 Summerland Older Vera
2021 Boxing Day Janet
Still We ThriveShort film
2023 Unforgotten Ebele FaladeSeries 5, episode 1
The Little Mermaid Lashana
2023 Dreamland DianeTV series

Theatre

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. Archived from the original on 10 October 2023. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
  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 2014). "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 | Thu 9 Oct 2014 – Sat 29 Nov 2014". 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 | Wed 20th Jun - Sat 7th Jul 2018". Theatre Royal Stratford East. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  23. ↑ "King Hedley II | Fri 17th May - Sat 15th Jun 2019". 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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