Michael Marmarinos was born in Athens.
He has studied biology (major: Neurobiology), acting and theater directing.

In 1983-4, the “diplous Eros” theater company was founded, and right after its first production, is subsidized by the Ministry of Culture. After a number of internal transformations and transfigurations, the group was renamed as “Theseum Ensemble” (TE). (www.theseumensemble.com).  

His work is ruled by two persisting principles:
a)Theater is the art on the humble history of people.
b)There is no moment in daily life which is not theater, once the proper gaze is there.

Three main issues are reflected through his late works:

I. Always attracted by assemblies... This biological tendency of people prompts him to work on Chorus of ancient Greek drama, as an ancient structure that produces contemporary forms within the theater and every-day life. A structure with unique qualities, a structure capable of producing theater, text, chaos, history, politics. A structure / device for a contemporary gaze.
II. The possible paths that can urge an actor's body to the turning point of becoming a performance document.
(Biology and his encounter with Bioenergetics and A. Lowen are of a crucial contribution)
III. Moments, insignificant or coincidental, violently inserted into dramaturgy, pushing it towards a poetry of documental.
This kind of writing tactics, capable of producing text, is what he usually names “Directing as Playwriting”.

Αs well as, Every Theorem inherent in all these phenomena.

Apart from Greece, productions of M.M have been staged - or others have been touring in various international festivals - in :
Austria, Belgium, China, France, Georgia, Germany, Holland, Japan, Italy, Korea, Poland, Russia, Serbia, Spain, Switzerland, Venezuela.

Selected productions:
1987: STRINDBERG - STRINDBERG(the first warning), A. Strindberg (Athens)
1993: DIE HAMLETMASCHINE,H.Müller (National Theater of Northern Greece, Thessaloniki)
- - -MEDEA FRAGMENTS,Euripides (Brussels)
1994: CAMERA DEGLI SPOSI,G.Veltsos (Athens)
1996: FARSA KALLDEWEY,B.Strauss (Athens)
1997: ROMANTISM, a performance by Michael Marmarinos (Athens)
1998: HAMLET- a snake's bite,W.Shαkespeare (Αthens, BITEF- Belgrad)
- - -HELEKTRA,Sophocles (Epidaurus, Thessaloniki, Dion, Philippi)
2000: AGAMEMNON, a ghost sonata, Aeschylus (Athens, Caracas, Zürich, Tbilisi)Special descrition as one of the two best production in the international festival of Caracas.
2001: MEDEAMATERIAL,H.Müller (Tbilisi,Moscow)
2002: NATIONAL HYMN, a theorem about togethernes, a performance by Michael Marmarinos (Corfu, Αthens)
Awarded as Best performance – directing award 2002
2003:NATIONAL HYMN, un Teorema per la choralita(a production of Teatro de la limonaia, Florence)
2004: NATIONAL HYMN(a production of Tumanishvili Teatr, Tbilisi)
- - -ROMEO + JULIET, the Third Memory, W.Shakespeare (Athens)
2005: OLYMPIC GAMES, Instructions Manual a performance by Michael Marmarinos (Athens)
- - -AGAMEMNON,Aeschylus (a production of Seoul Art Center, Seoul)
2006: NATIONAL HYMN(a production of Korean National University of Arts, Seoul).
2007: WHO IS H.KELERMAN AND WHY IS HE SAYING THOSE TERRIBLE THINGS ABOUT ME? [A visit to Kafka’s Castle]a performance by Michael Marmarinos (Athens)
- -DYING AS A COUNTRY,Dimitris Dimitriadis (Athens Festival, Wiener Festwochen 2008, Kunstenfestibaldesarts in Brussels 2008, International Theater Festival, WARSZAWA CENTRALNA 2008, Festival d'Αutomne Teatr de Odeon Paris 2009)
2008: STALIN, a discussion on (Greek) Theater a performance by Michael Marmarinos in collaboration with Akylas Karazisis, (National Theater of Greece, Athens, “7th Politik im Freien Theater” Festival (ECHT!) Cologne)
Awarded as the best performance,prize by the German Federal Agency for Civic Education.
2009: LIVES OF SAINTS a performance by Michael Marmarinos (Athens)
- - - AGORA – ein chorstasimon,(a production of VOLKSBÜHNE am Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz, Berlin)
- -- ΑCROPOLIS re-construction, S. Wyspianski (a production of
Teatr WSPOLCZESNY Wroclaw, Poland) Special distinction as one of the best productions of 2009 in Poland .
2010: ΑCROPOLIS re-construction a production of Theseum Ensemble (Αthens)
2011: HERCULES FURENS,Euripides (National Theatre, Epidaurus)
2012: ROMEO + JULIET, the Third Memory, W.Shakespeare (a production of Tumanishvili Teatr, Tbilisi) Awarded as one of the best productions of the year 2013
2012: INSENSO,Dimitris Dimitriadis, (Athens Festival)
2012-2013: A Midsummer Night's Dream, W. Shakespeare (National Theatre, Athens)

2013 : PHEDRE, J. Racine (Commedie Francaise , Paris)

2014 : FAUST , J.W.Goethe (Onassis Cultural Center, Athens).

2015: EMPIRE - I have your data , Y. Veltsos, (Thessaloniki Concert Hall, Thessaloniki).

2015 : NOH-NEKYIA , Odyssey/Homer, a cooperation with Noh Theatre from Japan, (Tokyo, Epidaurus )

Awarded as the best production of ancient drama for 2016 - directing award.

2016 : LYSISTRATA, Aristophanes ( Epidaurus, National Theatre)

2016-2017 : DON JUAN , Moliere ( Onassis Cultural Center)

2017 : YOKIHI, a Noh play by Komparou Zenchikou  (Stavros Niarchos Cultural Center)

2018 : A STREET CAR NAMED DESIRE, by Tenessi Wiliams  (Municipal Theatre of Pireaus)

2018 : ELECTRA, by Sophocles. SHANGHAI DRAMATIC ART CENTER.( International Arts Festival of Shanghai,CHINA.) .)Awarded twice with the first and second role Best Actor Awards – for the parts of Electra and Clytemnestra as  well as award for the best set design.

2020 : POST-RE-DEMOCRATIZATION/METAPOLITEFSI ERA, Jiang -sin-bi-sin/ imagine my heart as yours, a performance by Michael Marmarinos and Theseus Ensemble, (Theseum theatre)

2021: TRACKERS by Sophocles (Epidavros Hellenic Festival)

2020-2022 : ‘ ONCE TO BE REALIZED’ Music Theatre . Music By Beat Furrer, Barblina Meierhans, Olga Neuwirth, Younghi Pagh-Paan, Samir Odeh-Tamimi and Christian Wolff (Deutsche Oper Berlin, Munich Biennale,Onassis Cultural Centre).

 International Collaborations:
-with Albrecht Hirche (Germany): ALTHUSSER-ROCK 1996, Athens, Germany, France, Swirzerland.
-With Heiner Goebbels (Germany): SCHLIEMANN SCAFFOLDING 1997, Athens.
-With Helgard Haug and Daniel Wetzel (RIMINI PROTOKOLL –Germany):
HOT SPOTS – “I was there”. Athens, Hamburg 2004.
-With VeenFabriek and Paul Koek (Holland): "SUPPLIANTS" of Euripides. Holland, Epidaurus, 2006.

-with NOH Theatre of Japan in NOH-NEKYIA ,Homer. Ancient theatre of Epidaurus, Hellenic Festival.2015.

As an Actor:
He has taken part in most of the “diplous Eros” theater company productions, and has played major parts under the direction of Roula Pateraki, Yannis Houvardas, Antonis Antipas, Ploutarhos Kaitatzis, Spiros Evangelatos, and others, in plays by Koltes, Euripides, Daggermann, Sophocles etc.
Also, in films by L. Papastathis, Y. Corras, T. Spetsiotis, N. Triandafillidis, S. Theodoraki, C. Aristopoulos.

In ancient theater of Epidaurus he has performed:

in Euripides' HELEN with the NOTOS Theater, (THEOKLIMENOS) directed by Giannis CHouvardas
in Euripides' MEDEA with the Amfi-Theatre, (JASON) directed by Spyros Euaggelatos
in Sophocles' OEDIPOUS REX – OEDIPOUS AT COLONUS, National Theater, (OEDIPOUS) directed by Roula Pateraki

in Sophocles PHILOCTETE , Hellenic Festival,(PHILOCTETE), directed by K. Phillipoglou , 2014.

In Moliere’s Le Misantrhope ,(MISANTHROPE) directed by Yannis Houvardas National Theatre ,Athens 2019.

He has been invited to run workshops, or to take part with presentations, seminars, in :
Alexandria, Amman, Athens, Berlin (HEINER MÜLLER GESELSCHAFT), Caracas, Copenhagen, Greta, Florence (ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF FLORENCE/Fabrica Europa), Los Angeles (PAUL GETTY Museum/Foundation), Maastricht, Montreal( OPSIS Theatre), Moscow (ANATOLY VASILIEV Theatre) , Prague, Seoul(KOREAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY of the ARTS), Tallinn, Tbilisi, Thessaloníki, Umbria (LA MAMMA THEATRE), Wroclaw, Zürich

on the following topics:
a)Narrative: ELEVATOR, ( a methodology) ‘Toward an  instant dramaturgy’
(Directing as Playwriting)
b)CHORUS - an ancient form of modern Reality: Principles, Methodology
c)Acting and Bioenergetic Voice:

BOOKS

National Anthem – a theorem about togetherness 2002 (Marmarinos & colleagues) KOAN editions, Athens

2004 – Instructions Manual 2005 (Marmarinos & colleagues) KOAN editions, Athens

Lives of Saints 2009(Marmarinos & colleagues)  Theseum Ensemble

AWARDS

He has been awarded as best director, best performance and distincted productions repeatedly .

(2000, Agamemnon – International Festival of Caracas – distinction. 2003,

National Anthem – best production/direction. 2006,

‘STALIN, a discussion about greek theatre’ – best production – Koeln festival. 2009,

AKROPOLIS-reconstruction , Wroclaw – distinction as one of the best productions in Poland .2016,

Noh-Nekyia , Epidaurus Theatre - best production of Greek ancient drama.)

ELECTRA ,Best Actor Awards for the parts of Electra and Clytemnestra, Shanghai International Arts Festival,best set design and,  best production award by Shanghai Theatre Academy .

Member of the International HEINER MULLER GESELLSCHAFT.

Member of the International Bioenergetic Analysis Institute.

Since 2006 till 2009 he has been the president of the board of the International Institute for Theatre Unesco (I.T.I) in Greece.

Since 1998, associate professor University of Patras and Nauplion.
Since 2006, at the Faculty of Fine Arts University of Thessaloníki.

In 2015 he has been awarded with the " Mikhail Tumanishvili" prize, as exceptional artist in Tbilisi, Georgia.

In 2016 has been nominated as « Chevalier de l ordre des Arts et des Lettres» by the French ministry of Culture.

Artistic director of 2023 ELEVSIS European Capital of Culture.