"In the opening scene we meet four of the five characters, one or two spatting already. ‘Fat’ Hanna (impressive Leah Rossiter) gets in an argument with Ellen (Fiona Keenan O’ Brien) over who caught the cook’s eye. The air turns blue but Judith, a natural leader and excellently played by Donna Anita Nikolaisen, sorts them out."
THE BELFAST TIMES
"Donna Anita Nikolaisen shines consistently as Lisa’s caring friend..."
THE ARTS REVIEW
“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. Trained at The Focus Theatre and in Bel Canto Voice, I started out on stage at Cork’s Cat Club. As part of DTF 2024 I played several roles in Dermot Bolger’s ‘Home, Boys, Home’. Back in 2013 I landed the role of Zambian nurse Ama Chisenga in Ireland’s national soap ‘Fair City’. Since then I’ve played roles in ‘September Says’, ‘Christmas at Castle Hart’ and ‘Sweetness in the Belly’. TV credits include ‘Crá’, ‘Nova Jones’ and ‘The South Westerlies’. Thanks for checking out my site and feel free to get in touch.
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.
"Ray Yeates reprises his role in this production, almost years on from his first with Bolger. He is strongly accompanied by Fionnuala Gygax and Donna Anita Nikolaisen, who play various roles, believably occupying the space of a cocky drug dealer one moment, an immigrant the next."
Conor Capllis
THE IRISH TIMES
Role of Dr Barret in upcoming season 3 of Irish TV Drama ‘The Dry’.
I played the role of Ama Chisenga on ‘Fair City’ from 2013 to 2017.
Role of Mum in Cartoon Saloon’s pre-school animation ‘Silly Sundays’ – viewable on Cartoonito.
Role of Osa in short film ‘SUB 5’. Winner of Best Irish Short at DIFF 2026. Directed by Laura Kavangh.
Role of Coroner in upcoming Irish film ‘One Sweet Hour’. Directed by Declan Recks.
My album ‘LORE’ was written in 2019. It’s split into 2 EPs ‘Lore Bealtaine’ & ‘Lore Samhain’ – You can check them out on all the usual channels including Bandcamp.
As a voice actor I voice animation, documentaries, radio plays, video games and audiobooks and have worked for RTE, Virgin Media and BBC. I have also voiced campaigns for Trócaire, Colourtrend and Ulster Bank.
JANE EYRE. bertha mason. THE GATE, dublin
Jury Award Best Overall Short
Directed by Amy-Joyce Hastings
Best Supporting Actor Winner for the role of Ali in 'QED'.
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
