Our people

We are named Pleasure Dome after Samuel Taylor Coleridge's seminal Romantic poem Kubla Khan which speaks to our shared love of the natural world, our greatest inspiration.

Helena Payne- Creative Director/Producer

Helena grew up between Exmoor and London. She read English at the University of Exeter before training as an actor at Drama Studio London. She is the Creative Director of Pleasure Dome Theatre and has produced all their shows to date. Recently she wrote and toured ROSALIE in partnership with the National Trust; other writing credits include LOUISA, the incredible true story of the Overland Launch which toured in partnership with the RNLI supported by Arts Council England. She is currently developing LOUISA for future touring and
writing several new pieces including A Christmas Carol for the Brewhouse, The Jeffreys Project, and SLEDGE.

She has played both Helena and Titania in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Edmund in LEAR, Gwendolen in The Importance of Being Earnest, Will Doone and Gwenny in Lorna Doone, Lady Macbeth in Macbeth, and Lady Sims in The Twelve Pound Look with Pleasure Dome. Other work includes Sexism is Bad...at The Arcola, Praxagora in The Assembly Women, Mrs Smith in The Bald Prima Donna, Guiderius in Cymbeline, Viola in Twelfth Night and Margaret in Much Ado About Nothing, and Lily in Birthday Day with Wassail Theatre.
Sung roles include Mercedes in Carmen, Amneris in Aida, Cassandra in Les Troyens, The Mother in Amahl and the Night Visitors, Queen of the Fairies in Iolanthe, Alidoro in La Cenerentola, Annio in La Clemenza di Tito, Mrs Noye in Noye’s Fludde and Mustardseed in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

She loves The Valley of Rocks and thanks you for indulging her childhood dream in turning this spectacular space into a theatre...

Scott Le Crass- Director and Associate Company Member

Scott was born in Bristol, grew up in Birmingham, trained as an actor at Arts Ed and was a director on the Birmingham Rep’s first Foundry Programme. Last year he completed the National Theatre Director’s Course. He is an Associate Director for Pleasure Dome Theatre Company and has directed all their productions

to date. Credits include Rose by Martin Sherman starring Maureen Lipman (West End), Buff (Plymouth Theatre Royal/The Pleasance, Edinburgh), The Railway Children (OVO), My Dear Aunty Nell (UK Tour), Merboy (Omnibus), Thirsty (Vault Festival), Rose (Hope Mill Theatre/Park Theatre), Twelfth Night (East London Shakespeare Festival), I Couldn’t Do Your Job (Pleasance Theatre, London/Queens Theatre, Hornchurch), Elmer (UK and International Tour/Sell A Door), Sid (Arts Theatre and UK Tour), Country Music (Omnibus

Theatre), The Witches (Watford Palace), Alice in Wonderland (Old, Rep, Birmingham), If You Love Me This Might Hurt by Matty May (Camden People’s Theatre), Education, Education Karaoke (Camden People’s Theatre).

Jai Morjaria- Lighting Designer and Associate Company Member

Jai trained at RADA and won the 2016 Association of Lighting Designer’s ETC Award.

Recent designs include Cruise (Duchess Theatre); Big Big Sky, The Hoes (Hampstead Theatre); Lava, Pawn/Limbo (Bush Theatre); My Son’s A Queer (But What Can You Do?) (Turbine Theatre); Hushabye Mountain (Hope Mill); Out of the Dark (Rose Theatre Kingston); Shuck’n’Jive, Whitewash (Soho Theatre); Anansi the Spider, Aesop’s Fables (Unicorn Theatre); I’ll Take You To Mrs. Cole (Complicite); World’s End (King’s Head Theatre); The Actor’s Nightmare (Park Theatre); Mapping Brent (Kiln Theatre); Mary’s Babies (Jermyn Street Theatre); Glory (Duke’s Theatre/Red Ladder); Cuzco (Theatre503); Losing Venice (Orange Tree Theatre); King Lear, Lorna Doone (Exmoor National Park); Cinderella (Duke’s Lancaster); Ages of the Moon (Vaults Festival); A Lie of the Mind (Southwark Playhouse); 46 Beacon (Trafalgar Studios with Rick Fisher); Out There on Fried Meat Ridge Road (White Bear Theatre/Trafalgar Studios 2); Acorn (Courtyard Theatre. Off-West End Award nomination for Best Lighting).

Seb Payne - Composer and Associate Company Member

Seb began as a chorister at St Paul’s Cathedral and the classical training he received has formed a bedrock for all that followed. Songwriting was taken up in his late teens, and since his steady
introduction into more contemporary styles there has been no looking back. As a scholar at Berklee College of Music, Boston, Seb developed and expanded his musical scope. Now living in London and performing with several different groups – from 80’s classics to A Cappella group NoVI to funk/rock band Superbird – Seb still just about finds time to write and record his own music under the pseudonym, Kasoma. He is relishing working on the sound world of Treasure Island and looks forward to sharing his many original compositions and arrangements with a new audience.

Stephanie Berner - Performer and Associate Company member

Steph graduated from the London College of Music in 2018. She performed with Opera Holland Park and at the Proms as part of the BBC Symphony Chorus. In 2018, she won the Michael James Oratorio Competition. Since finishing LCM she has been the soloist for Minehead Choral Society and Taunton Choral Society. She is a frequent performer with Pleasure Dome Theatre and Somerset Opera, most recently as Ahmal in Ahmal and the Night Visitors. Steph’s next
venture will be with Bluebird Opera and working with the Brewhouse on their Christmas show, A Christmas Carol.