Miriam Needham is a writer and theatre-maker from Manorhamilton, Co. Leitrim.

She writes plays and short stories, and collaborates with other theatre artists to make work for stage.

Her work has been supported by The Arts Council of Ireland, Creative Ireland, and Create.

Plays

Previous productions include Wonder Horse (Cairde Arts Festival 2024), Hear Me Speak! (Hawk’s Well 2023), Snapshot (Hawk’s Well 2021 & National Tour 2022), and Compostela (Dublin Fringe Festival 2019). Miriam’s theatre work has been supported by the Arts Council of Ireland, Creative Ireland, Create, Druid (FUEL 2021), Blue Raincoat (Short Theatre Artist Residency 2021), Anna Newell (littletinySPACE), Super Paua (Associate Artist 2022), and Hawk’s Well Theatre (Artist-in-Residence 2021-2024).

Short Stories

Poor Creatures was long-listed in the Edinburgh Short Story Award 2024, highly commended in the Cúirt New Writing Prize 2023, and will be published this October in HOWL New Irish Writing. Miriam will give a reading of Poor Creatures this November at Dublin Book Festival, as part of ‘Leabharlann Beag - A Literary Journal Showcase’.

Melt was a runner-up in the Dingle Lit Short Story Competition 2024, and will be read on Saturday 16th November as part of Dingle Literary Festival 2024.

She recently completed The Stinging Fly six-month fiction course and she was one of 39 writers selected to participate in the 2024 Irish Writers Centre National Mentoring Programme. She is currently working towards her first collection of short stories.

 Collaboration

As a performer and devisor, Miriam has worked and toured with companies such as Dead Centre, Blue Raincoat, and Branar. She is a regular collaborator with Super Paua / Rose Producing, and has written audio pieces for both Super Paua and Three’s Theatre Company. In recent years, she has also been supporting other artists in making their own work, as a dramaturg/director/outside eye.

Community/Engagement Work

Miriam is an experienced facilitator of over ten years, having taught yoga and drama to young and old alike. She has collaborated with various community groups, delivering creative workshops to support wellbeing through artistic exploration. Some of these groups include Cranmore Community Co-op, The Bridge Project, Domestic Violence Advocacy Service, and Sligo Social Services.