Thank you for considering my DYCP application.
I am the Artistic Director of Dorsetborn.
We are a young company, here to discover new stories deserving of new audiences. You can find us making new work across Dorset and the South West.
Since being formed in February 2022, Dorsetborn have generated 30+ paid opportunities for freelancers and engaged with over 2000 audience members/participants.
We have partnered with organisations including Artsreach, Dorset Libraries, the New Diorama, Pavilion Dance South West, and Taunton Brewhouse. We are an Associate Company of National Youth Theatre and been featured on ITV Meridian and BBC Radio Dorset.
We are just getting started.
Georgia
and the
Iceberg
YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONcyia_6sV4
A Show for Young Adventurers
South West Tour
11th February - 14th April 2023
Writer and Director - Rohan Gotobed
Producer - Olivia Tetlow
Designer and Puppetry - Layla Bradbeer
Composer & Sound Designer - Ed Lewis
Dramaturg - Priya Patel Appleby
Puppetry Director - Molly Harris Farley
Creative Captioner - Stephen Lloyd
Stage Manager - Philippa Hendry
Marketing - Gabriella Sills
Helena / Penguin - Zoë May Dales
Georgia - Flossie Ure
When Georgia goes to Antarctica to visit her big sister Helena, all she wants is to explore the big frozen continent outside her bedroom window.
While Helena is focused on completing her chores, Georgia discovers a giant iceberg on a collision course with the nearby penguin colony!
If she can't journey across the ice in time to warn them, then everyone's in danger...
Funded by Arts Council England with additional support from Poole Lighthouse.
This production's development included workshops with Avonwood Primary, Merley First School, Ashley Junior School, and St John's First School.
“The play uses an inclusive and interactive production to engage with its young target audience, with something for the adults to enjoy as well, in a beautifully crafted show, with an original script that incorporates threat, danger and adventure within the shared knowledge and light-hearted entertainment.
Georgia and the Iceberg tells a serious ecological message, connecting with the natural world in a fun yet educational way, with poignant and provocative performances, both heart-breaking and heart-warming, that could melt the coldest cynical heart.
I dare you to watch this and not be moved!"
— Scene One+
Flossie Ure (Georgia) and Zoë May Dales (Penguin)
Flossie Ure (Georgia)
Venues Included:
Poole Lighthouse
Dorchester Arts
Artsreach
Ilminster Arts Centre
Front Room WSM
Pegasus Theatre, Oxford
ARC Winchester
Forest Forge, Ringwood
The Mill, Banbury
Dorset Libraries
"Dorsetborn's first show is a delightful two-hander...
Our audience of young children were fully engaged and loved being involved by the actors."
— Elspeth McBain,
Poole Lighthouse
“The star of the show has to be the puppetry penguin... they were enchanting and cheeky."
— Elaine Chapman
“Such a beautiful, touching, compelling and accessible production! Congrats to the cast and creative team! You have something really special."
"A show that has heart and knowledge at its core. Thought the wisdom imparted to the audience was great."
— Lisa Gregan,
Bristol Old Vic
Pride
Soundcloud link: https://on.soundcloud.com/xok6D
An Immersive Audio Drama
Kingston Lacy
From 14th July 2023
Written by Naomi Denny and Rohan Gotobed
Director - Rohan Gotobed
Producer - Olivia Tetlow
Composer and Sound Designer - Freddie Lewis
William John Bankes - Neil James
Anne Bankes - Melody Fisher
Seymour / George Bankes - Jamie Lee-Hill
Sarah - India Murray
Special Thanks to the volunteers of Kingston Lacy and the entire Kingston Lacy team for their support and collaboration.
Commissioned by the National Trust
In 1841, William John Bankes was forced into exile due to his homosexuality.
He would never return to Kingston Lacy, his stately home in Dorset, where William John had spent years cultivating one of the country's most exciting and eccentric collections of art and artefacts.
But what if he did? And what if you could see the house through his eyes?
"A tour de force... Each scene was pacy, with convincing characters and punctuated with facts that never felt shoehorned in.
It's a fun way to explore our famously stately pile at your own pace, with insights into the lavish contents as well as the complex and eccentric William John Bankes himself."
— New Stour & Avon Magazine
"This audio drama adds so much to the visitor experience, and I would urge people to take advantage of it."
— Dorset View
"Dorsetborn theatre highlights the struggles and fear forced upon men for simply being true to themselves. Gay rights and freedoms only began the journey for equality in 1967 and the fight continues today for equality in the LGBTQ communities as people quite rightly so want the freedom to being themselves without fear of harm and persecution.
The depth of research and care that has gone into this 45-minute audio tour is a credit to the theatre company, adding another depth to the tapestry of Kingston Lacy’s history."
— Elaine Chapman,
Theatre and Art Reviews
Neil James (William John), Melody Fisher (Anne), and Jamie Lee-Hill (Seymour)
Jamie Lee-Hill (George)
Melody Fisher (Anne)
Neil James (William John), Melody Fisher (Anne), and Jamie Lee-Hill (Seymour)
A Shipwreck Story
A playable digital experience
Coming Soon
Created by Layla Bradbeer and Rohan Gotobed
Text - Rohan Gotobed
Designer - Layla Bradbeer
Producer - Olivia Tetlow
Commissioned by Poole Museum for their 'Creatives in the Community' programme. This production's development has included workshops with Bourne Academy and Poole Lighthouse's Young Writers programme.
Fort R&D
Dorsetborn @ Poole Lighthouse
15th July 2022
Written by Tabitha Hayward
Director - Rohan Gotobed
Producer - Olivia Tetlow
Daisy - Kitty Schneider
Viv - Molly Thorne
An R&D supported by Poole Lighthouse and Artful Scribe.
Included workshops with Parkstone Grammar and Sturminster Newton High.
Georgia
and the
Iceberg
R&D
Dorsetborn @ Lyric Theatre Bridport
25th March 2022
Created by the Company
Directed by
Rohan Gotobed
Priya Patel Appleby
Designer - Layla Bradbeer
Producer - Amy Olwen Tribe
Puppetry Director - Bryony Moores O'Sullivan
Helena / Penguin - Amber Lin
Georgia - Eliza Beth Stevens
An R&D funded by Arts Council England, with further support from Poole Lighthouse, Lyric Theatre Bridport, and Activate Performing Arts. Included workshops with Merley First, Greenford Primary, and Bridport Primary.
Macbeth
Arts University Bournemouth
Palace Court Theatre / Schools Tour
13th - 24th November
Written by William Shakespeare
Adaptation and Director - Rohan Gotobed
Producer - Jonny Hoskins
Production Officer - Ben Goodridge
Stage Manager & Lighting Designer - Dom Phillips
Production Photographer - Steve Porter
Set Designer - Maisie Perkins
Costume Designer - Isabelle Martin
Hair & Make-Up Designers - Tegan Earl & Harriet Toy
Costume Supervisor - Seren Rees
Macbeth - Lorcan Adams
Lady Macbeth - Emily Brown
First Witch - Elsie Cairns
King Duncan / Doctor - Matthew Cook
Macduff - Robert Elson
Lady Macduff / Gentlewoman - Raina Howells-Nivas
Second Witch - Megan Jones
Third Witch / Fleance - Signe Lundgren
Malca - Sophie Shields
Lennox - Charlie Sibley
Ross - Teddy Sterry
Banquo - Henry Tran
8th September 2022.
Where were you?
I was on a train somewhere, a train delayed by thunder, lightning, and rain. My phone told me the Queen was dead, long live the King. I wasn't sure how to respond. Pride? Grief? Activism? How far are our identities shaped by those who reign over us?
It was a joy to adapt and direct 'Macbeth' for these times of complicated change. As well as touring to secondary schools in Dorset and Hampshire, we were also the first production to perform in Bournemouth's newly re-opened Palace Court Theatre.
“The performance was excellent and slick. Every member of the team who saw it has commented on how effectively the script had been modified and adapted. The change from Malcolm to Malca was also excellently done."
— Burgate School
“It was a great abridged version and the kids seemed to enjoy it very much."
— Katherine Senior,
Tilted Wig
"The new eyes that you brought to the text were splendid. It was fantastic acting and such a tight production. A brilliant job."
— Claire Hodgson,
Diverse City
ARTRAGE
The National Gallery
21st April 2023
Written by Natalia Lewis
Director - Rohan Gotobed
Producer - Claude Graham
Sound Designer - Joe Dines
Stage Manager - Grace Hans
Casting Director - Sydney Aldridge
Jackson - George Fletcher
Betty - Joanne Leung
Lily - Natalia Lewis
Jack - Eddie Loodmer-Elliott
BSL interpreted by Craig Painting and Diane Upcraft
An R&D funded by Arts Council England, with further support from The National Gallery.
Show 6
INK Festival @ The Cut, Halesworth
13th - 17th April 2023
Director - Rohan Gotobed
Artistic Director - Julia Sowerbutts
Festival Manager - Tor Stewart
Technician - Jessica Taylor
Video Technician - Alex Hermon
Stage Manager - Laurence Leonard
Photography - Martin Smith
11 Weeks and 2 Days
Written by Rosalind Adler
Sam - Lewis Bruniges
Hazel - Barbara Horne
Everyone is Lying to Me
Written by Gavin Milnthorpe
Ernie - Lewis Bruniges
Trish - Hattie Chapman
Dad - Paul Hegarty
Carol - Barbara Horne
I See You
Written by Erin De Frias
Cam - Hattie Chapman
That Sinking Feeling
Written by Sam Buss
John - Paul Hegarty
Joan - Barbara Horne
Hazel decides to have a word with her father despite the fact she hasn't been born yet.
Trish wakes up with the alarming thought that every statement of truth is in fact a lie. Probably.
Cam is a young online sex worker with decisions to make when she falls for the boy in the grocery store.
John and Joan live on an iceberg. Their ever-shrinking home makes them aware that distance is what makes the heart grow fonder...
The 7th annual INK Festival was a vast and tantalising smorgasbord of creativity, centred around Halesworth in rural Suffolk.
"I saw an online sex worker recognising why love is something quite different, gazing at a version of herself as a Barbie in a dollhouse, and - surreally and arrestingly - Barbara Horne as an unborn foetus arguing with its father."
— Libby Purves
“Hattie Chapman caught the eye in a series of short plays."
— inews.co.uk
"The direction was absolutely first class. It was so inventive and slick and absolutely filled the stage. The doll's house conceit was inspired."
— Audience Feedback
The Delicate Art of Falling
The Other Room, Cardiff
4th - 6th August 2022
Written by Tom Wentworth
Director - Rohan Gotobed
Producer - Samantha Jones
Stage Manager - Weronika Szumelda
Performed by
Elicia Axon
Toby Thompson
Created for The Other Room's
Young Artists Festival 2022
Destroy the Precious Things
Currently in rehearsals
Performed by MAST Mayflower Studios Young Company
Commissioned by MAST Mayflower Studios and Artful Scribe
"We'd like to assure you that no paintings will be harmed during the show. Relax. Anyone who attempts such a thing will be prosecuted. Young people, you've been warned."
Abbi, Tabby, Milo and Keira are best mates. They do everything together.
BUT...
Abbi wants to throw baked beans at the Mona Lisa.
The others aren't sure.
How does this solve climate change?
What does it mean to be 'good' now?
And why is Tabby seeing Leonardo Da Vinci everywhere?
I have been involved with the following organisations...
