Abbie Spallen grew up in the town of Newry, in Northern Ireland. She worked more than 15 years as an actress in film, television and on stage. Now she is a successful playwright and her plays have been performed in several theaters (among others: the Traverse Theater in Edinburgh, the Bush Theater in London, and the New York City Center in Manhattan).

In 2007 her acclaimed play "Pumpgirl" won the Stewart Parker Award and the Susan Smith Blackburn Award, which recognizes women who have written works of outstanding quality for the English-speaking theatre.

"Strandline", Spallen's newest play, premiered in November 2009 in Dublin.
She currently lives and writes in London.

Thanks to the HALMA grant you can read a sample translation of Abbie Spallen's writing in Finnish (1 | 2).


The HALMA grant for Abbie Spallen was made possible by funding of the European Commission.