About Michèle Forbes

Michèle Forbes was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland and graduated in English and Psychology from Trinity College, Dublin. She worked as Script Reader for the Abbey Theatre in Dublin and subsequently began acting with the Abbey Theatre Company, touring worldwide with such productions as the award winning THE GREAT HUNGER (Almeida London, Maison des Cultures de Monde Paris, Moscow Arts Theatre, Gorky Bolshoi St. Petersburg, Triplex New York, Annenberg Center Philadelphia ) and DANCING AT LUGHNASA (Sydney Opera House, Victorian Arts Centre Melbourne, Adelaide Festival Centre) . Her film work includes OMAGH, written by Paul Greengrass and Guy Hibbert and directed by Pete Travis, which opened the Human Rights Watch International Film Festival at the Lincoln Center in 2005 and for which she won Best Actress Monte Carlo and was nominated Best Actress at the Irish Film &Television Awards. Other awards for OMAGH include BAFTA Best Television Film, Best European Film San Sebastian Film Festival, Discovery Award Toronto International Film Festival, and Broadcasting Press Guild Award.  Other film work includes INSIDE I’M DANCING, THE PLAYBOYS, DOROTHY MILLS; her television work includes the BBC productions BEST: HIS MOTHER’S SON, JOURNEY TO KNOCK , HOLBY CITY, LOVING MISS HATTO and JACK TAYLOR.

Michèle worked with Grotowski’s Teatr Laboratorium in England and was granted the A.T.Cross Award to study with Meredith Monk and Ping Chong in New York.

Michèle’s theatre work also includes FOOTFALLS and COME AND GO for BECKETT IN THE CITY, TOO LATE FOR LOGIC, NO ESCAPE, AMAZING GRACE at the Abbey Theatre, PHAEDRA Rough Magic, PENTECOST Donmar Warehouse, THE TALK OF THE TOWN Landmark Theatre.

She won both the BRYAN MACMAHON and the MICHAEL MCLAVERTY AWARDs for her short stories. Other published writing includes articles for THE IRISH TIMES, THEATRE IRELAND, U MAGAZINE, CUE, HIBERNIAN MAGAZINE.

She performed the reading of the critically amended edition of James Joyce’s FINNEGAN’S WAKE, edited by Danis Rose and John O’Hanlon , published by Houyhnhnm Press Great Britain and designed by Martino Mardersteig, at its much anticipated launch at Dublin Castle in 2010 which was described by the Irish Independent Newspaper as ‘the greatest publishing event since Joyce’s previous masterpiece, Ulysses, appeared in 1922.’