Michael Patrick (actor)
Irish actor and writer (1991–2026)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Michael Patrick (born Michael Campbell; 6 September 1990 – 7 April 2026) was an Irish actor and writer from Belfast, Northern Ireland.[1][2][3] He was best known for co-writing the stage play and BBC adaptation My Left Nut with Oisín Kearney, and for creating and starring in The Tragedy of Richard III at the Lyric Theatre in 2024.[4][5] In that production, he became the first disabled actor to play Shakespeare's Richard III on the island of Ireland.[1][2]
September 6, 1990
Michael Patrick | |
|---|---|
| Born | Michael Campbell September 6, 1990 Belfast, Northern Ireland |
| Died | (aged 35) |
| Alma mater | Churchill College University of Cambridge Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts |
| Occupations | Actor, writer |
| Known for | My Left Nut The Tragedy of Richard III |
Patrick also appeared with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Abbey Theatre, and in television series including Game of Thrones, This Town, and Blue Lights.[6][2]
Early life and education
Patrick was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in 1991.[2] He studied physics at Churchill College, University of Cambridge, where he performed with the Cambridge Footlights, and later trained at the Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts in London.[6][1] [7]
Career
Patrick worked frequently with writer and director Oisín Kearney. Their first professional collaboration, My Left Nut, premiered at the Dublin Fringe Festival in 2017. Patrick wrote and performed the one-man play, which was based on his teenage years and later won a Summerhall Lustrum Award at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.[8][6] In 2020, Patrick and Kearney adapted the work into a three-part BBC Three comedy-drama series.[4]
Other theatrical works by Patrick and Kearney included The Alternative, winner of Fishamble's A Play For Ireland initiative, and The Border Game, which first played at the Lyric Theatre as part of the Belfast International Arts Festival in 2021 before touring Ireland in 2022.[9][10]
In 2024, Patrick and Kearney staged The Tragedy of Richard III at the Lyric Theatre, adapting Shakespeare's play around Patrick's own experience of living with motor neurone disease.[5] Patrick starred in the title role, and in 2025 he received the Judges' Award at The Stage Awards for the production.[11] Later that year he followed it with My Right Foot, a one-person play about living with the disease.[12]
Personal life and death
Selected works
- My Left Nut (2017 stage play; 2020 television adaptation)
- The Alternative (2019)
- The Border Game (2021)
- The Tragedy of Richard III (2024)
- My Right Foot (2025)