Our people

Did you know that Samuel Taylor Coleridge refers to a Pleasure Dome in his seminal poem, Kubla Khan, inspired by Exmoor's dramatic landscape?

Helena Payne- Creative Director/Producer

Helena read English at The University of Exeter before training at DSL. Represented by Atwell Artist Management she studies voice with Sheila Barnes. As an actor she has played Titania in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Edmund in LEAR, Gwendolen in The Importance of Being Earnest, Will Doone in Lorna Doone and Lady Macbeth and Lady Sims in The Twelve Pound Look with PDTC. Other work includes Sexism is Bad… at The Arcola, Top Girls at The Southbank Centre, Praxagora in The Assembly Women, Mrs Smith in The Bald Prima Donna at The Old Red Lion, Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Guiderius in Cymbeline at the CSF, The Blind/The Intruder at the Old Red Lion and its transfer to the Tabard, The Alchemist at the Riverhouse Studios, Viola in Twelfth Night and Margaret in Much Ado at PSF, and Like Enemies of the State at the Pleasance. She regularly records at Abbey Road with London Cantamusica and recently recorded audiobook All the Perverse Angels at Pinewood Studios. She has toured with Heritage Opera as Mercedes in Carmen and other sung roles include Annio in La Clemenza di Tito, Mrs Noye in Noye’s Fludde at St Paul’s Church, Covent Garden, Alidoro in La Cenerentola and Mustardseed in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream at The Minack Theatre. She loves The Valley of Rocks and thanks you for indulging her childhood dream in turning this spectacular space into a theatre.. What has she done then?

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.

He is an Associate Director for Pleasure Dome Theatre Company and has previous productions include- LOUISA, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Twelve Pound Look, Lear, Lorna Doone, The Importance of Being Earnest, Macbeth.

Credits include:

Director- Rose by Martin Sherman starring Maureen Lipman (Hope Mill Theatre/Sky Arts/Broadway HD), Elmer (UK and International Tour/Sell A Door), Country Music (Omnibus Theatre), Sid (Arts Theatre and UK Tour) The Witches (Watford Palace), Alice in Wonderland (Old, Rep, Birmingham), If you Love Me This Might Hurt (Camden People’s Theatre), The Strange Affair of Herschel Grynspan (Above The Stag/Ruby In The Dust), The Importance of Being Earnest (Beckenham Place Park/Play in the Park), Organised Fun (online comedy improv), Rage, But Hope (Streatham Space Project), Seance (The Asylum, Peckham), Never Trust a Man Bun (Stockwell Playhouse), Alternativity (Hope Theatre/Bread and Roses), No Help Sent (Tristan Bates), Ghost About The House (King’s Head), A Curmudgeon’s Guide to Christmas Round Robin Letters (Hope Theatre), The Biggest Tarantino Fan In The World (Vaulty Towers/Arcola, Minaturists), The Chechnya Plays (The King’s Head/Theatre Deli), Kicked in the Sh**ter (Hope Theatre/Theatre in The Mill, Bradford), Cancel The Sunshine (Hope Theatre/NHS Hospitals Tour), The Killing of Sister George (London Theatre Workshop), Open House (Birmingham Rep and Midlands tour), Diary of a Madman (Omnibus/Jack Studio).

Associate Director- Godspell (50th Anniversary Concert, Hope Mill Theatre), The Seven Ages of Patience (Kiln Theatre).

Assistant Director- The King’s Speech (Chichester/Birmingham Rep/UK Tour), Dorian: A Rock Musical (Stream Theatre/Ruby In The Dust), Romeo and Juliet (Silvano Toti Globe/Harold Pinter Theatre), The Merchant of Venice (Silvano Toti Globe/Duke of Yorks), Coming Up (Watford Palace), A Christmas Carol (Birmingham Rep), Von Ribbentrop's Watch (Oxford Playhouse/Watford Palace), Kurt and Sid (Trafalgar Studios).

Scott’s production of Rose won an Off Com award and Country Music an Off West End award. He received a Best Director Offie and Broadway World Nomination for his productions of Sid and a Best Director Offie Nomination for Kicked in the Sh**ter. Alice in Wonderland was a runner up and a finalist for two What’s On Birmingham Awards.

Jai Morjaria- 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).

Lizzie Watts- Designer and Associate Company Member

Lincolnshire born artist and musician Lizzie Watts graduated from the Norwich School of Art and Design in 2010. A multi-disciplined creative with a diverse portfolio, she is inspired by traditional arts and children's literature. She has worked on shows at The Young Vic, Royal Court, Bristol Old Vic, Camden Roundhouse and The BAC and has designed productions for theatres and touring companies across the UK. She co-manages Thimble Theatre, a Bristol based company developing performances based in storytelling, mask work and puppetry for audiences of all ages. Lizzie is an experienced workshop leader and is passionate about making theatre with and for young people. She is often employed as a designer/mentor working with youth theatres and designing theatre in education.

Joe Price- Lighting Designer

Joe trained at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and is now based in Bristol. He received the 2015 Francis Reid Award for Lighting Design.

Credits include: Outlier (Bristol Old Vic), My Name Is Rachel Corrie (Young Vic), The World’s Wife (Welsh National Opera), Redefining Juliet (Barbican), Rapunzel (The Egg, TRB), Heads Will Roll (Told by an Idiot), Heather (Bush Theatre), The Turn of the Screw (RWCMD), Quality Street (Northern Broadsides), Ask Me Anything (Paper Birds), What Songs May Do (Dance City), Kite (The Wrong Crowd), Conditionally (Soho Theatre), Mrs Dalloway (Arcola Theatre), Father Figurine (Wardrobe Theatre), Box Clever and Killymuck (Bunker Theatre), Fossils (Brits off Broadway NYC), Peter Pan (Barn Theatre), Frankie Vah (Luke Wright), This Must Be the Place (VAULT Festival), Let the Right One in (Arts Ed), Magnificence (Finborough Theatre), Some Girl(s) (Park Theatre), Around The World in 80 Days (Theatre Royal Winchester), Alternative Routes (National Dance Company Wales), Animal/Endless Ocean (Gate Theatre) and Y Twr (Invertigo).

Stephanie Berner- Associate Company Member

Taunton-based Stephanie trained at the London College of Music where she specialised in opera. During her time there, she won the Michael James oratorio competition and performed in The Proms with the BBC Symphony Chorus in 2018.

Since, she has performed in Opera Holland Parks’ Alice in Wonderland, been the soloist for Minehead Chorales Stella Natalis, Celia in Somerset Operas’ Iolanthe and Tessa in the Gondoliers. Stephanie has been a recurring member of Pleasure Dome Theatre from recitals in Porlock to performing at the Valley of Rocks, in her latest venture as Hippolyta in A Midsummer Night's Dream.