Who We Are

Experimentorium is the moment of intersection, single and ephemeral; the instant of a new idea that breaks away from everything that has gone before. The Experimentorium is not a safe space, but a challenge - it is a platform where ideas either fall or take flight.

Since 2017, Experimentorium has staged four theatre pieces, developed work with the Bread and Roses and KDC and created two short films. Growing from the Text and Performance MA course taught jointly by RADA and Birkbeck, Experimentorium comprises skills and experience across myriad platforms and styles.

Read more about Experimentorium’s productions

Laura Dorn — Director, Producer (co-founder)

Following a busy year which saw her complete a master’s degree at RADA, direct plays at the Tristan Bates Theatre, RADA Festival and the Rosemary Branch Theatre and complete a short film which has been accepted for international film festivals, Laura is currently in pre-production for two other feature films.
Growing up in Germany before moving to the UK to study Art History and Film Studies at the University of Sussex, and fluent in five languages since childhood, Laura’s international identity informs her work. She has been playing the piano for two decades and often uses music as a tool of communication and facilitation in development, rehearsal and performance. Whilst at RADA, she wrote, directed, produced and starred in experimental musical, MEIWES/BRANDES and directed her own adaptation of Macbeth.
Laura is the co-founder of Experimentorium and her most recent directing credit is The Enemies, which earned several four star reviews. Her experience includes devising, drama, musical, classics, film, adaptation and new writing. She spends her spare time trying to learn another instrument and working on a PhD proposal. 

Jonathan Parr — Actor, Producer, Composer (co-founder)

Johnny’s approach is inspired by Antonin Artaud’s theories on affective performance, which culminated in Fragments, a filmed retelling of Woyzeck combined with a live physical theatre performance.
Johnny first came across Artaud’s ideas whilst studying theatre at school and continued to explore these during a BA in American Literature with Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia.
After graduating in 2013, Johnny performed as a guitarist and singer, touring to venues up and down the country before pursuing an MA in Text & Performance at RADA.
Following his MA, Johnny travelled to Italy to train with Eugenio Barba and Odin Teatret. He is a member of the Laban Guild and is the co-founder of Experimentorium.
Recent credits include The Engagement and The Enemies (Experimentorium), Anna Liisa and Frightbite (Flashpoint Collective). Credits at RADA include SS Lieutenant Julian Schwartz in To Shanghai, Bosola in The Duchess of Malfi, Claudio in Much Ado About Not(h)ing, and Macduff in My Name’s Macbeth.

Paul Alistair Collins — Cinematographer, Photographer (Associate)

Born in Milan and raised in Paris and London, Paul has always been drawn to telling stories with multiple perspectives, which he now seeks to bring to Experimentorium.
During his teenage years, Paul began to take photos. In his 20’s he stumbled upon theatre whilst studying at Edinburgh University, and instantly both passions merged. His work as a lighting and production designer with the local Bedlam Theatre has had a profound effect on his photography. He strives for his images to have memorable atmospheres and lush compositions that provide just the right balance of colour, light and texture to support their emotional core.
Since graduating in 2013, and following an MA (Postgrad) in Documentary Production at UWE Bristol, Paul has gone on to work as a cameraman and assistant editor on a broad slate of documentary, adventure and virtual reality content for the BBC, ITV, C4 and Discovery among other companies. Recent credits include SAS: Who Dares Wins and The Circle for C4, and Shooting The Mafia which was screened at Sundance and Berlinale 2019. Whilst filming has taken him to the jungles of Panama and the Texan deserts, it is the stories and dramas closest to home that compel him most. His dreamlike imagery has been nominated for Scottish Nature Photographer Of The Year and British Wildlife Photography Awards, and he regularly leads seminars and photo workshops in the UK, Italy and the Arctic Circle.
When he’s not working, Paul is an avid jazz pianist, mountain-climber and cook, and is desperately trying to develop his linguistic palette through reading Japanese and Spanish literature.

PHIL BYRNE - Actor/musician (associate)

Phil is Experimentorium’s new associate artist. He acted in both Experimentorium short films ‘Fragments’ and the upcoming ‘Inside her Walls’. Phil also composed the songs for the stage play, ‘The Engagement’, as part of theatrical rock band Zwah. He has performed extensively since childhood and will next be seen in Experimentorium’s rendering of the ‘Macbeth’ story.