“Played with graceful exoticism by Donna Anita Nikolaisen, Bertha is as savage on this 21st-century stage as she is on the 19th-century pages. She brings gothic mysticism to an otherwise realistic work, portraying horror and beauty simultaneously, pointing to the era’s racism.”
Eithne Shortall, THE SUNDAY TIMES
Hi, I’m Donna Anita Quinn, an actor from Cork, now based in Kilkenny. I work on stage and screen and as a voice actor. Recent screen roles include Ariane Labed’s ‘September Says’ (Biology Teacher), Hallmark’s ‘Christmas at Castle Hart’ (Paige Monaghan), ‘Crá’ (Diane), ‘Nova Jones’ (Frances Frond) and ‘The South Westerlies’ (Lucy Doyle). Hope you like my site and feel free to get in touch with me if you have a collaboration in mind. The creative way is never linear.
Donna played the role of Zambian nurse Ama Chisenga in Ireland’s national soap ‘Fair City’ from 2013 to 2017.
As part of the 2024 Dublin Theatre Festival I played various roles in Dermot Bolger’s play ‘Home, Boys, Home’. We opened in The Civic Theatre and toured to The Viking Sheds, Clontarf.
Role of Coroner in upcoming Irish film ‘One Sweet Hour’.
Role of Dr Barret in upcoming season 3 of Irish TV Drama ‘The Dry’.
JANE EYRE. bertha mason. THE GATE, dublin
bio
Donna Anita Quinn is an Irish actor and voice over artist. Theatre highlights include the lead role of Judith Noone in Jaki McCarrick’s 2024 Irish premiere of ‘Belfast Girls’. She also played the roles of Martin, Wafaa and Nathan in Dermot Bolger’s ‘Home, Boys, Home’ as part of the 2024 Dublin Theatre Festival.
Her breakthrough TV role came as migrant nurse Ama Chisenga, on RTE’s national soap ‘Fair City’. Since leaving the show in 2017 she has played various roles in TV productions including ‘Crá’, ‘Kin’, ‘Conversations with Friends, ‘Nova Jones’ and ‘The South Westerlies’. Donna’s recent film credits include award winning film ‘September Says’, ‘Sweetness in the Belly’ and Hallmark’s ‘Christmas at Castle Hart’. She won Best Supporting Actor for her role as Ali in the award winning short ‘QED’ at the 2018 Dublin Underground Cinema Festival.
As a voice over artist she has narrated documentaries for BBC and Virgin Media. She voiced the role of Mum in Cartoon Saloon’s preschool animation ‘Silly Sundays’.
Donna trained at The Focus Theatre and Bel Canto School of Voice. She is represented by Alex Cusack Management and Voice Bank.
Background
From an early age I felt the stage call to me. My debut performance, apart from ‘The Wicked Queen’ on my school stage, was a student showcase at the Cork Cat Club with Monfort School of Performing Arts.
After graduating from UCC with a degree in Business, I moved to Dublin and worked in IT for a few years. After taking a sabbatical to travel the world, on my return I decided to train my voice and become an actor. I began my performance training at Bel Canto School of Voice, Waltons School of Music and I attended The Focus Theatre Stanislavsky Studio. To support my training I freelanced as a web and graphic designer.
Early stage roles included Bloody Mary in ‘South Pacific’, Margaret in ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ and Tituba in ‘The Crucible’. From this springboard I began my acting journey.
Performance Training
Acting for Camera, Film Venture; Stanislavsky Studio, Tim McDonnell (The Focus Theatre); Chekhov, Rayla Tadjimotova; Viewpoints, Joe Devlin; Voice, Andy Hinds; Bel Canto Voice, Bel Canto School of Voice; Music Theatre, Waltons School of Music; Contemporary Dance, CoisCéim Dance Theatre; Jazz Ballet, Elena Degtyareva; Hip Hop, Jane Shorthall; LAMDA Acting and Speech & Drama Grades at Montfort College of Performing Arts;
Skills & Qualifications
Singer-Songwriter
Web & Graphic Designer
BSc Business Information Systems Hon, UCC
Full Drivers License
