Barbara Marten
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Barbara Marten (born 31 January 1952) is a British actress. She is most known for playing Eve Montgomery in ''
Casualty Casualty may refer to: *Casualty (person), a person who is killed or rendered unfit for service in a war or natural disaster **Civilian casualty, a non-combatant killed or injured in warfare * The emergency department of a hospital, also known as ...
''. She has appeared in various soaps, including ''
EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a British television soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the East End of London, the ...
'' and ''
Brookside Brookside may refer to: Geography Canada * Brookside, Edmonton * Brookside, Newfoundland and Labrador * Brookside, Nova Scotia United Kingdom * Brookside, Berkshire, England * Brookside, Telford, an area of Telford, England United States * Bro ...
'', as well as many other drama serials, such as ''
Harry Harry may refer to: Television * ''Harry'' (American TV series), 1987 comedy series starring Alan Arkin * ''Harry'' (British TV series), 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons * ''Harry'' (New Zealand TV series), 2013 crime drama starring Oscar K ...
'', ''
The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV from 16 October 1984 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, "Woodentop (The Bill), Woodentop" (part of the ''Storyb ...
'' and '' Band of Gold''.


Early life

Marten was born in
Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...
,
West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire was one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the riding was an administrative county named County of York, West Riding. The Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire, lieu ...
, and grew up in
County Durham County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...
. She went to the all-girls William Newton School in Norton, then Stockton and Billingham Technical College. She went to drama school at the
London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) is a drama school located in Hammersmith, London. Founded in 1861, it is the oldest specialist drama school in the British Isles and a founding member of the Federation of Drama Schools. In ...
as a teenager for three years, and later said that it put her off becoming an actress. Marten trained as a teacher in
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
and taught for two years before being drawn back to the stage. After becoming involved with a theatre group in
Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...
, Marten joined a newly formed theatre group in
Doncaster Doncaster ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don, it is the administrative centre of the City of Doncaster metropolitan borough, and is the second largest se ...
. They toured
Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...
, performing plays about various subjects, including the
St Leger The St Leger Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster over ...
, and another about battered wives.


Career

In 1996, Marten appeared at the National Theatre in Helen Edmundson's adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's ''
War and Peace ''War and Peace'' (; pre-reform Russian: ; ) is a literary work by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy. Set during the Napoleonic Wars, the work comprises both a fictional narrative and chapters in which Tolstoy discusses history and philosophy. An ...
''. She has also appeared in various other plays such as ''
Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...
'', '' Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' (at
Manchester Royal Exchange The Royal Exchange is a grade II listed building in Manchester, England. It is located in the city centre on land bounded by St Ann's Square, Exchange Street, Market Street, Cross Street and Old Bank Street. The complex includes the Royal Exc ...
), '' The Winter’s Tale'' (at the Royal Exchange), ''Get Up & Tie Your Fingers'' (Customs House), ''The Awkward Squad'' ( West End), ''
Heldenplatz Heldenplatz () is a public space in front of the Hofburg Palace in Vienna, Austria. Located in the Innere Stadt borough, the President of Austria resides in the adjoining Hofburg wing, while the Federal Chancellery is on adjacent Ballhausplatz ...
'' ( Arcola), ''The Enemies Within'', ''Some Kind of Hero'' (at the
Young Vic The Young Vic Theatre is a performing arts venue located on The Cut, near the South Bank, in the London Borough of Lambeth. The Young Vic was established by Frank Dunlop in 1970. Nadia Fall has been artistic director since 2025, succeeding ...
), ''
The Glass Menagerie ''The Glass Menagerie'' is a memory play by Tennessee Williams that premiered in 1944 and catapulted Williams from obscurity to fame. The play has strong autobiographical elements, featuring characters based on its author, his histrionic mo ...
'' ( Lyceum, Edinburgh), ''Everything Is Possible: The York Suffragettes'' (
York Theatre Royal York Theatre Royal is a theatre in St Leonard's Place, in York, England, which dates back to 1744. The theatre currently seats 750 people. Whilst the theatre is traditionally a proscenium theatre, it was reconfigured for a season in 2011 to off ...
) and a touring production of ''
An Inspector Calls ''An Inspector Calls'' is a modern morality play and drawing room play written by English dramatist J. B. Priestley, first performed in the Soviet Union in 1945 and at the New Theatre in London the following year. It is one of Priestley's ...
''. From 1997 to 1999, she played the part of nurse Eve Montgomery in ''Casualty''. Since then, she has appeared in many TV dramas, receiving much acclaim for her work in dramas such as '' Bob & Rose'' and ''
Fat Friends ''Fat Friends'' is a British drama that aired on ITV from 12 October 2000 to 24 March 2005, consisting of 25 episodes over four series. Set in Leeds, the series explores the lives of several slimming club members, with a focus on the various ...
''. Marten played the lead role of Ellen in the film '' Between Two Women'' (2000), and then in ''
A Passionate Woman ''A Passionate Woman'' is a British two-part drama miniseries that aired on BBC One from 11 to 18 April 2010. It was written by Kay Mellor, an adaptation of her 1992 stage play, inspired by her mother's life story. Plot In the 1950s Yorkshire, ...
'' (2010) as Moira. She appeared in the 2012 series '' Public Enemies''. Marten then played Hannah Greg in the period television drama series '' The Mill'' (between 2013 and 2014) which was about life at
Quarry Bank Mill Quarry Bank Mill (also known as Styal Mill) in Styal, Cheshire, England, is one of the best preserved Textile manufacture during the British Industrial Revolution, textile factories of the Industrial Revolution. Built in 1784, the cotton mill ...
during the
Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...
.


Personal life

Barbara and her husband, Mike Kenny, (writer of ''The Railway Children'' play) have three sons, Theo, Josh and Billy. Marten met Kenny in the 1980s, while acting in a student pantomime in Birmingham, when they were studying to become teachers. They have lived in
York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...
since 2004, having previously lived in
Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...
. The children have studied at the Steiner School at Fulford.


Filmography


Television


Film


Awards

In 2018, she was nominated for a ''
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play was an annual award presented by Drama Desk in recognition of achievements in the theatre across collective Broadway, off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway productions in New York City. ...
'' for her role in '' People, Places and Things'' at National Theatre/ St. Ann's Warehouse.


References


External links


interview
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Marten, Barbara Living people 1947 births Actresses from County Durham Actresses from Leeds Alumni of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art British television actresses People from Norton, County Durham Actors from the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees