Lessons from teacher
Written by Erin De Frias
Director and Co-Creator - Rohan Gotobed
Associate Producer - Sophie Janssen
Set & Costume Designer - Layla Bradbeer
Lighting Designer - Sherry Coenen
Composer & Sound Designer - Ed Lewis
Assistant Sound Designer - Duru Yildiz
Photography - Lily Barrett
Cam - Barbara Smith
15th April - 6th June 2026
Dorsetborn, UK Tour
Irl, Cam is a hopelessly romantic schoolteacher. Online, she goes by Crystal - a notorious Only Fans creator, dominating deviant men for money.
But when she falls for a pupil’s dad, her separate lives begin to collide in ways both hilarious and haunting. Cam must resort to desperate
measures to maintain her sense of self.
A romcom-thriller about love, suspicion, and the contradictions of modern adult life. Who do you trust to see the real you?
Written by Erin De Frias, and co-created by Rohan Gotobed, Lessons from Teacher starred Barbara Smith (EastEnders) as 15 unique characters, from a sassy schoolgirl to a pub landlord, as well as Cam, Tommy, and the mysterious Crystal. It toured to venues including Poole Lighthouse, Taunton Brewhouse, and the Lantern Theatre as part of this initial run. Produced by Dorsetborn, with support from Forest Forge and Poole Lighthouse.
Lessons from Teacher will return in 2027.
'What do they want with me? It's not love. It's excitement.'
Elaine Chapman reviews
"Director Rohan Gotobed blends the naughty and nice sides of the character in a fast-paced insight into the secret online world of adult pleasure. The play is full of spoiler alerts and twists and turns."
★★★★
Bournemouth Echo
"A gripping story of a double life unravelling in romantic and chilling ways, both sides intertwining to create an experience all together captivating. I haven’t experienced a physiological event like it. This piece can only be seen to be truly believed, and I highly recommend everyone seek it out and support this fantastic work of art."
Scene one+
West Dorset Mag
"A very thought provoking and interesting play. Barbara Smith is such a fabulous actress to watch, with so much expression and energy; my eyes never left her during the whole performance. The piece was clever, impactful, and very gripping."
"I have never before seen such a powerful solo performance. A complicated tale of love, control, shame, and the warring roles we play in adult life."
Hope FM
Fine times recorder
"This is a daring one-woman show that takes a high level of skill to pull off, performed by the remarkable Barbara Smith.
The joy of this play is how the story develops with twists and turns right through to its powerful ending. On the way there is gentle humour that comes through the clever story-telling and performing."
"Barbara Smith brings to life a host of characters from precocious schoolgirls through barmaids, parents, head teachers and bright daughters to pathetic punters. It is an astonishingly accomplished achievement. It hit all the right buttons across the widely varied audience - it was great to see so many young people at the theatre.
It is certainly modern, brave, and challenging as well as brilliantly performed and directed."