Martha Henry

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Martha Henry

National Theatre School (GrDip
)
Occupations
  • Actress
  • theater director
Spouses
​
​
(m. 1962, divorced)​
​
(divorced)​
​
​
(m. 1989, divorced)​
Children1

Martha Kathleen Henry CC OOnt (née Buhs; February 17, 1938 – October 21, 2021) was an American-born Canadian stage, film, and television actress. She was noted for her work at the Stratford Festival in Stratford, Ontario.

Early life and training

Martha Kathleen Buhs was born in

Carnegie Institute of Technology before moving to Canada in 1959.[4] She later adopted the stage surname Henry, the legal surname of her first husband Donnelly Rhodes, whom she married in 1962.[3]

Henry performed at Toronto's Crest Theatre upon her arrival in Canada, and was soon after accepted into the first class at the

National Theatre School in Montreal.[5] In 1961, the Theatre School took its students to Stratford to perform scene selections for the Festival company. Henry caught the attention of Artistic Director Michael Langham, who offered her a spot in the 1962 company based entirely on her performance that day. Accepting the offer would have required Henry to leave the Theatre School part way through the three-year program, however NTS Director Powys Thomas advised her to take the offer, saying she would learn more with the Stratford company than at the Theatre School. She took the offer and was awarded a diploma ahead of the inaugural class, making her the Theatre School's first graduate.[6][7][8]

Leading actress at Stratford

During Henry's first season at the

Lincoln Centre, and London's West End.[16][17]

Henry and three other directors (

R.H. Thomson as "Stratford turning (a corner) and becoming a deeply Canadian enterprise".[22][23][24]

Directing and later stage career

After 1980, Henry performed and directed at major arts venues across North America, including

Manitoba Theatre Centre, Shaw Festival,[28] Neptune Theatre,[29][30] and Carnegie Mellon University.[31]

Henry was artistic director of the Grand Theatre in London, Ontario, from 1988 to 1995, during which time she programmed a wide variety of contemporary works, including newer plays such as Oleanna by David Mamet, The Rez Sisters by Tomson Highway, and The Stillborn Lover by Timothy Findley.[32][33][34]

Henry's return to the Stratford stage in 1994 as Mary Tyrone in

Genie Award for Best Actress at the 17th Genie Awards. The return also marked the start of a second lengthy run for Henry at Stratford, with her performing in leading and supporting roles, directing, and instructing. In 2007, she was appointed director of Stratford's Birmingham Conservatory for Classical Theatre Training, a program that has trained many promising new Canadian actors.[36] Her production of All My Sons by Arthur Miller was included in multiple theatre reviewers' lists of top theatre productions in 2016.[37][38][39] In 2017, she took over leadership of Stratford's Michael Langham Workshop for Classical Direction.[40]

In 2018, in her 44th season of performing, at age 80, Henry played Prospero in The Tempest, directed by Antoni Cimolino. Chris Jones, theater critic for the Chicago Tribune, wrote "in all my years watching shows at this theater, a miragelike fountain of excellence ... I have never seen anything quite like the experience of watching Henry".[41]

During the

Canadian Screen Award nominations at the 11th Canadian Screen Awards
in 2023, including a posthumous nod for Henry in the category Best Performance in a Television Film or Miniseries.

Personal life

Henry's marriages to Rhodes, Douglas Rain, and Rod Beattie all ended in divorce.[44][45] She had one child (Emma) with Rain.[46]

Henry died of cancer shortly after midnight on October 21, 2021, at her home in Stratford, Ontario, twelve days after her final stage appearance in Three Tall Women.[2][45][47]

Honours

Henry was made an officer of the Order of Canada in 1981, and promoted to companion in 1990.[48] She was made a member of the Order of Ontario in 1994. Henry received a Governor General's Performing Arts Award for her lifetime contribution to Canadian theatre in 1996.[49]

Television roles

Notable television roles include Catherine in Empire, Inc.,[50] the prime minister's mother in H2O,[1][51] and the owner of the Chateau Rousseau in Ken Finkleman's At the Hotel.[1] In 1994, she starred in the TV film And Then There Was One.[51][52]

References

  1. ^ a b c Defelice, James V. (April 7, 2011). "Martha Henry". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Canada. Archived from the original on October 22, 2021. Retrieved October 22, 2021.
  2. ^
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  5. ^ Cushman, Robert (October 22, 2021). "Martha Henry, a great tragedienne and comedienne, was always good at endings". National Post. Retrieved October 26, 2021.
  6. YouTube
  7. ^ Nestruck, J. Kelly (May 25, 2018). "Stratford legend Martha Henry on #MeToo and discovering that she short-changed Shakespeare". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on October 22, 2021. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
  8. ^ "Biography". ww2.ent-nts.ca. Archived from the original on August 3, 2018. Retrieved May 13, 2018.
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  14. ^ "Martha Henry acting and directing credits". Stratford Festival Archives. Archived from the original on April 5, 2019. Retrieved June 11, 2019.
  15. ^ Charlebois, Gaetan (October 23, 2021). "Henry, Martha". Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Retrieved October 24, 2021.
  16. ^ O'Toole, Lawrence (September 4, 1978). "According to the script: Heralding the arrival of Martha Henry". Maclean's. Archived from the original on October 20, 2021. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
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  25. ^ "'Her life became art': Martha Henry remembered for devotion to the stage". Toronto Star. The Canadian Press. October 21, 2021. Archived from the original on October 22, 2021. Retrieved October 22, 2021.
  26. ^ Ouzounian, Richard (November 22, 2007). "Caution: under construction". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on June 22, 2013. Retrieved October 22, 2021.
  27. ISBN 9781550506457. Archived
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  28. ^ "Legendary Canadian actor Martha Henry dies at 83". The Beacon Herald. Stratford, Ontario. October 21, 2021. Archived from the original on October 21, 2021. Retrieved October 22, 2021.
  29. ISBN 9780773559950. Archived
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  30. ^ Richer, Shawna (January 27, 2003). "'Doing what I love to do'". The Globe and Mail. Toronto. Archived from the original on October 22, 2021. Retrieved October 22, 2021.
  31. ^ Hill, Katherine (October 21, 2021). "'Our hearts are shattered': Stratford Festival actress Martha Henry dies at 83". CTV News. Archived from the original on October 21, 2021. Retrieved October 22, 2021.
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  35. ^ Richards, David (June 9, 1994). "Casting a Fearless Eye on a Sacred Text". The New York Times. p. C15. Archived from the original on October 24, 2021. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
  36. ^ "Martha Henry takes post at Stratford Festival". The Globe and Mail. February 15, 2007. p. R3. Archived from the original on October 18, 2021. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
  37. ^ Nestruck, J. Kelly (December 24, 2016). "The best, and worst, of the stage for 2016: From a landmark musical to a thrilling Shakespeare shake-up, these were the best productions in a stellar year for Canadian shows". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on May 23, 2017. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
  38. ^ Fricker, Karen; Maga (December 27, 2016). "The year in theatre: A versatile and creative 2016". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on October 20, 2021. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
  39. ^ Cushman, Robert (December 28, 2016). "The very best of this year's theatre". National Post. Archived from the original on October 24, 2021. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
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  41. ^ Jones, Chris (July 26, 2018). "Report from Stratford Fest". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on July 4, 2021. Retrieved October 22, 2021.
  42. ^ Nestruck, J. Kelly (August 20, 2021). "Three Tall Women is one nasty evening at the theatre you won't (be able to) forget". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on October 20, 2021. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
  43. ^ "Martha Henry's final performance on the stage was 'given in the face of her own death'". CBC Arts, October 14, 2022.
  44. ^ "Martha Henry biography and filmography". CBC News. October 21, 2021. Archived from the original on October 21, 2021. Retrieved October 22, 2021.
  45. ^ a b "Canadian theatre legend Martha Henry dead at 83". CBC News. October 21, 2021. Archived from the original on October 21, 2021. Retrieved October 22, 2021.
  46. ^ Mayes, Alison (March 8, 2012). "Dysfunctional family drama". Winnipeg Free Press. Archived from the original on April 7, 2016. Retrieved October 22, 2021.
  47. ^ Gordon, David (October 21, 2021). "Canadian Stage Legend Martha Henry Dies at 83". Theatre Mania. Archived from the original on October 21, 2021. Retrieved October 21, 2021.
  48. ^ "Ms. Martha Henry, C.C., O.Ont". The Governor General of Canada. Archived from the original on February 18, 2019. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
  49. ^ "Martha Henry biography". Governor General's Performing Arts Awards Foundation. Archived from the original on February 18, 2019. Retrieved February 3, 2015.
  50. ^ Maga, Carly (February 12, 2020). "A Canadian theatre legend is getting cosy with audiences at Toronto's Coal Mine Theatre". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on October 23, 2021. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  51. ^ a b "Martha Henry". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on December 9, 2017. Retrieved October 22, 2021.
  52. ^ "Martha Henry List of Movies and TV Shows". TV Guide. Archived from the original on October 24, 2021. Retrieved October 22, 2021.

Further reading

External links
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