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.

Fiction

Miriam’s stories have been published in The Stinging Fly, Banshee, and HOWL New Irish Writing. She placed second in the Dingle Lit Short Story Competition two years in a row, was highly commended as part of the Cúirt New Writing Prize, and was long-listed in the Edinburgh Short Story Award.

In 2023, she took part in The Stinging Fly Six Month Fiction Workshop and in 2024, she was one of 39 writers selected to participate in the Irish Writers Centre National Mentoring Programme. She received mentorship from Bernie McGill, winner of the 2023 Edge Hill Short Story Prize, who had this to say about her work: "These are very well crafted, well considered stories: reflective, unnerving, moving, funny and thoroughly engaging. Miriam is a talented and original writer. There’s an appetite for work of this contemporary stamp: wry, insightful, clever writing."

Theatre

Playwrighting credits include Welcome To Your New Upgrade (winner of the Audience Award at Cork Arts Theatre 10x10 event 2024), 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).

Recent performance work includes a national tour of FEN by Orla Clogher and a schools tour of Museum of Believing by Rose Producing.

As an actor and puppeteer, Miriam has toured nationally and internationally with companies such as Blue Raincoat, Dead Centre, and Branar.

Her 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), Áras Éanna (residency 2025), and Hawk’s Well Theatre (Artist-in-Residence 2021-2024).

Facilitation

Miriam is an experienced facilitator, with over ten years working with groups of various backgrounds and abilities. She has facilitated drama and yoga workshops in schools and accommodation centres, and with charities in Ireland and abroad. In recent years, she worked with Hawk’s Well Theatre’s SHINE drama group, Cranmore Community Co-op, Sligo Youth Theatre, and Sligo Social Services. From 2022 – 2024, she co-ordinated and delivered New Voices at Hawk’s Well Theatre, a playwrighting programme for teenagers.