Stage Door News
Stage Door News
December 1, 2015… Martha Henry has decided to move on from her position as Director of the Stratford Festival’s Birmingham Conservatory for Classical Theatre at the conclusion of her contract.
“I have been trying to persuade Martha to stay on for another five-year term, but sadly to no avail,” says Artistic Director Antoni Cimolino. “But as she has worked so tirelessly in the position and with such great care for so many years – deeply sad though it makes me – I can’t begrudge it. We owe her so much.
“Martha’s first term as Director of the Conservatory began in 2007, when the baton was passed to her from David Latham. During that time, she carefully built on the very strong foundation that David and Michael Mawson had set in place. Her dedication to her responsibilities and her devotion to the development of young actors have been an inspiration to us all. She has trained dozens of Canada’s most promising classical actors, and has mentored and inspired countless others throughout her career. She will be greatly missed in this role, but she will not be absent from the Festival: she will continue as a valued artist, actor and director in the time ahead.”
The announcement is being made at this early date to allow time to select a successor, a process in which she will play an important part. To ensure a smooth transition as her tenure comes to a close, she will share responsibility for the 2016-17 Conservatory, which begins next September.
“When I was asked to take over the Conservatory in 2007 – the year that it became the Birmingham Conservatory – my mystification was intense,” says Ms Henry, who will be directing the Festival’s 2016 production of Arthur Miller’s All My Sons.
“I had never been a teacher, or anything other than an actor and a director; I had no idea that I could do such a thing. Antoni Cimolino is a hard person to say ‘no’ to. Now, I am forever grateful. When finished, Ann Stuart [the coordinator of the Conservatory] and I will have had 10 years of watching, nurturing, coaxing, paving the ground for young actors about to step firmly into their careers. Many of them have become dear friends. That we have also seen so many go on to enormous achievements has been the enriched payment of a lifetime.”
Ms Henry was celebrated at the Festival’s Legacy Gala in 2014, her 40th season. Over six decades, Ms Henry’s contributions have been crucial to the Festival’s success. A Companion of the Order of Canada, a Member of the Order of Ontario and a recipient of the Governor General’s Lifetime Achievement Award, she has enriched the cultural landscape of this country immeasurably. At the Festival alone, she has performed in almost 70 productions over 41 seasons and has directed 11 more.
“Martha has served as an incredibly important bridge between our history and our future in her capacity as Director of the Birmingham Conservatory,” says Executive Director Anita Gaffney. “We have benefited enormously from her wealth of experience, her stewardship of the next generation of artists, and her care for the Stratford Festival. The Birmingham Conservatory has been enriched by her contributions, and the Festival and the broader theatre community will be the beneficiaries of her work with these emerging artists for years to come.”
Ms Henry’s storied career at the Stratford Festival began in 1962, when she appeared as Miranda to William Hutt’s Prospero and Lady Macduff in Christopher Plummer and Kate Reid’s Macbeth.
Her acclaimed roles have included many of Shakespeare’s women: Titania, both Helenas, Luciana, Cressida, Viola, Countess of Rossillion, Cymbeline’s Queen, Lady Anne, Queen Eleanor, Cordelia, Goneril, Rosaline, Princess of France, Thaisa, Desdemona, Lady Macbeth, Doll Tearsheet, Queen Margaret, Joan la Pucelle, Constance, Isabella, Beatrice, Paulina and Volumnia.
Her more contemporary roles include Olga (Three Sisters), Mary Tyrone (Long Day’s Journey Into Night), Martha (Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?), Mrs. Alving (Ghosts), Agnes (A Delicate Balance), Linda Loman (Death of a Salesman) and Prof in Taking Shakespeare, directed by Diana Leblanc in the 2013 season.
As a director at the Festival, her productions include Brief Lives (featuring Douglas Rain), Richard II (Geordie Johnson), Richard III (Tom McCamus), Antony and Cleopatra (Peter Donaldson and Diane D’Aquila), Of Mice and Men (Graham Greene), An Enemy of the People (David Fox), Three Sisters (Lucy Peacock and Tom McCamus), Timothy Findley’s Elizabeth Rex (Diane D’Aquila, Brent Carver and Peter Hutt), Measure for Measure (Geraint Wyn Davies and Tom Rooney), Mother Courage and Her Children (Seana McKenna), and 2015’s She Stoops to Conquer (Lucy Peacock and Joseph Ziegler).
Ms Henry’s contributions to theatre, film and television have been celebrated with five Genie Awards, two Betty Mitchell Awards, a Toronto Drama Desk Award, a New York Theatre World Award, three Gemini Awards and seven honorary doctorates. She has also been made a Lifetime Member of Actors’ Equity.
The search for a new Conservatory Director is underway.
Photo: Mary Henry. ©V. Tony Hauser.
2015-12-01
Stratford: Martha Henry to end her term as Director of the Birmingham Conservatory