Marcia Henville – Actress: A Dream 41 Years In The Making

I’ve always had a passion for the arts. I always say that if I had to live my life all over again, I’d be an actor, a dancer and an athlete.”

~ Marcia Henville

In a land far away, years before she became known as the vivacious, fiery and fearless television host of “Point Blank“, Marcia Henville had a dream. Born in England to Trinidadian parents, as a child her “overriding, consuming passion was to be an actress”; a passion which she had almost given up on until she met the matriarch of theatre in Trinidad- Helen Camps.

After a trip to Trinidad at age 14, Marcia fell in love with calypso and steelpan. She learned to play our national instrument while in London and from age 21 she embarked on a ritualistic pilgrimage to the land of her parents to play with Neal & Massy All Stars for Panorama each year. She said,

“It’s a big thing, to journey to Trinidad for Panorama. That’s how you know if you’re any good at pan playing, if you can make it in Trinidad.”

She emigrated to Trinidad in 1995 and sure enough made it as a pannist. She was also successful at the corporate jobs which she held… but to be an actress, THAT was her dream.

In a 2004 Interview, Marcia tells the Trinidad and Tobago Newsday ,

“I called everybody, Raymond (Choo Kong) and Baggasse, and nothing happened…Then at the Lion King auditions I saw Louris (Lee-Sing). She told me she was producing Rampanalgas Sunrise, that Helen Camps had written and was going to direct, and asked if I’d like to get involved.”

With her commitments to Gayelle and her family at the time, she figured it was not going to be possible. That was until the name Helen Camps was brought up yet again, but in unrelated conversation, with Deborah “Philomena” Maillard. Deborah, as Marcia recounted to the Newsday reporter, told her that if she wanted to get into theatre the person to check was Helen Camps as she was the “best thing in drama in Trinidad.” and that, according to Marcia, was when the “penny dropped” (It’s a UK phrase. Definition in the hyperlink).

In 2004 she made her stage debut in Brown Cotton Theatre’s production of Rampanalgas Sunrise, a musical written and directed by Helen Camps, achieved her lifelong ambition to become a stage performer at age 41.

Since then she went on to perform in more stage roles and even made her a transition to film acting and producing with Sean Hodgkinson before her untimely passing on 24th Jan 2015 at age 51. Her credits included:

Theatre:

“Rampanalgas Sunrise” Brown Cotton Theatre (2004)

“The Odd Couple” Gregory Singh (2005)

“Pillow Talk” Raymond Choo Kong Productions (2006)

“Dat is Man”  Raymond Choo Kong Productions (2007)

Film:

Quirky Films “A Story About Wendy” (2012)

Quirky Films “A Story About Wendy 2” (2014)

Quirky Films and Eye on Dependency’s “Traffiked”(2015) (co-producer)

Whether within the performing arts community or otherwise, we’d love to know your fond memories of the late Marcia Henville.

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