Michelle is an Irish artist with over a decade of experience working in the UK, Ireland and internationally as a writer, director and actor.
She has a legacy of creating transportive worlds that are exciting, challenging and entertaining for audiences to play in. From small experiences and pilots to large scale productions and digital storytelling, her wide breadth of work often features immersive worlds, interactive elements and new technologies.
As well as writing and making original work, she brings ideas to life through her partnerships. From designers and composers to psychologists, scientists, video and game designers, she works with brilliant practitioners to tell stories in new and surprising ways, and brings work to schools and universities, museums, community groups and hospitals wards.
Long time collaborator with interactive BAFTA winning theatre-makers Coney, she has created original stories for Secret Cinema and worked with Punchdrunk to discover the future possibilities in immersive technology for live performance.
As a writer/director, recent work includes WISHMAS, a fantastical festive adventure (Secret Cinema), JUST PASSING THROUGH, a soothing and surreal audio adventure in one of London’s best kept secret gardens (Coney’s The Golden Key), WE’RE DREAMING OF A NET ZERO FUTURE, a reflective game designed for live and remote audiences to play around COP 26 in Glasgow; ROUTES, a digital environmental crime thriller (devised with The Egg Assembly, Theatre Royal Bath); HOW WE SAVE THE WORLD, a decision-making adventure through key moments in the Earth’s history - live and later adapted for a digital stage (Natural Environmental Research Council and The Natural History Museum); SPARK CHANGE THROUGH PLAY (Coney for Greenwich & Lewisham Young People’s Theatre/Albany Theatre); MOON UNDER THE WATER, a touring live literature show by poet Andrew James Brown; NIGHTMARE PLANTS a unique production built for the Victorian glasshouses at The National Botanic Gardens of Ireland (Bram Stoker Festival); YOUR CONNECTION IS NOT PRIVATE (Coney for Free Word Centre and Camden People's Theatre).
She has run masterclasses at The Almeida Theatre London, worked as an associate lecturer at Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, and a visiting Director for BA (Hons) Acting at Arts University Bournemouth.
She is committed to developing creativity and storytelling skills in children and young people, and reverse the decline in reading and writing for pleasure. A writer with Ministry of Stories, she has written with hundreds of children in schools, communities and on writing retreats in London. She is a script reader for The Egg - Theatre Royal Bath’s awards winning theatre for children, young people and their families. She worked with The Children’s Literacy Charity to help close the literacy gap among disadvantaged children in London. And with The Media Trust, delivered an ambitious programme of storytelling workshops reaching 9000+ young people across London and Essex.
Michelle studied at Trinity College Dublin and The London School of Economics and Political Science. A skilled communicator and facilitator, she brings her theatre practice and behavioural research experience together to explore ideas and solve problems in creative ways. She has designed playful workshops, experiences and games for events and organisations including COP 26, The Wellcome Collection, Science Gallery London, Ashcroft Arts Centre, and Old Courts Wigan.