Bathsheba Sarah Lee "Bash" Doran is a British-born playwright and TV scriptwriter living in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Life & Education

Bathsheba Doran, nicknamed "Bash", grew up in London and her mother is the Elizabethan historian, Susan Doran. She became interested in comedy and writing early on. Doran says she fell in love with theatre when she found

Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythical ...

's shadow in the backstage at a theatre when she was a little girl and realised that it was made of

pantyhose Pantyhose, sometimes also called sheer (textile), sheer tights, are close-fitting legwear covering the wearer's body from the waist to the toes. Pantyhose first appeared on store shelves in 1959 for the advertisement of new design panties (All ...

. Doran studied at

Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge Sidney Sussex College (historically known as "Sussex College" and today referred to informally as "Sidney") is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England. The College was founded in 1 ...

where she received a B.A. and M.A. in English literature. She went on to study at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

where she also an M.A. In 2000, Doran moved to the United States on a

Fulbright Scholarship The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people ...

. She studied and received a

Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admi ...

from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in 2003, and was selected as a playwriting fellow at

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

Career

Doran was a contemporary of

Robert Webb Robert Patrick Webb (born 29 September 1972) is an English comedian, actor and writer. He rose to prominence alongside David Mitchell as part of the comedy duo Mitchell and Webb. Mitchell and Webb starred in the Channel 4 sitcom '' Peep Show' ...

and David Mitchell. Her first job as a professional writer was

comedy sketch Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches" or, "skits", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. While the form developed and became popular in ...

writing for their

BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matter, incorporating genres such as comedy, drama and ...

show '' Bruiser''. She worked for several years in London as a comedy writer, writing for shows such as '' Smack the Pony'' and '' TV to Go''. Doran's work has been developed by the O'Neill Playwriting Center,

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 ...

Manhattan Theatre Club Manhattan Theatre Club (MTC) is a theatre company located in New York City, affiliated with the League of Resident Theatres. Lynne Meadow has been the company’s Artistic Director and visionary since 1972. Barry Grove joined the company in 19 ...

and Sundance Theatre Lab, among others. She helped Lear deBessonet with her play ''transFigures''. She has had plays commissioned by the

Atlantic Theater Company The Atlantic Theater Company is an Off-Broadway non-profit theater company based in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 1985 by playwright David Mamet, actor William H. Macy, and a group of acting students, the compan ...

and

Playwrights Horizons Playwrights Horizons is a not-for-profit American Off-Broadway theater located in New York City dedicated to the support and development of contemporary American playwrights, composers, and lyricists, and to the production of their new work. ...

. Doran's play, ''Kin'', described as "exquisitely wrought" by the ''New York Times'', premiered at off-Broadway's Playwrights Horizons from 25 February – 3 April 2011, under the direction of Sam Gold. Her play ''The Mystery of Love and Sex'', directed by Sam Gold, opened at

in New York on 2 March 2015. It was described as "perfectly wonderful" by the ''New York Times''. The play was subsequently produced at the

Mark Taper Forum The Mark Taper Forum is a 739-seat thrust stage at the Los Angeles Music Center designed by Welton Becket and Associates on the Bunker Hill section of downtown Los Angeles. Named for real estate developer Mark Taper, the Forum, the neighborin ...

in Los Angeles and the Signature Theater, Arlington VA, among other national and international venues. Doran was nominated for a 2012

Writers Guild Award The Writers Guild of America Awards is an award for film, television, and radio writing including both fiction and non-fiction categories given by the Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America West since 1949. Eligibility The ...

for her work on the HBO series ''

Boardwalk Empire ''Boardwalk Empire'' is an American period crime drama television series created by Terence Winter for the premium cable channel HBO. The series is set chiefly in Atlantic City, New Jersey, during the Prohibition era of the 1920s. The series sta ...

''. She also wrote episodes for season 2 of the NBC show '' Smash.'' She was a writer and co-producer of season 2 of the Showtime show ''

Masters of Sex ''Masters of Sex'' is an American period drama television series that premiered on September 29, 2013, on Showtime. It was developed by Michelle Ashford and loosely based on Thomas Maier's biography '' Masters of Sex''. Set in the 1950s thro ...

''. She was co-executive producer and writer of Hulu's adaptation of ''

The Looming Tower ''The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11'' is a 2006 nonfiction book by Lawrence Wright, a journalist for ''The New Yorker''. Wright examines the origins of the militant organization Al-Qaeda, the background for various terrorist atta ...

''. She co-wrote the Netflix feature film ''

Outlaw King ''Outlaw King'' is a 2018 historical action drama film, co-written, produced, and directed by David Mackenzie. Chris Pine stars as Scottish king Robert the Bruce during the Scottish Wars of Independence in 1304–07. The ensemble cast also fe ...

'', starring Chris Pine and directed by David Mackenzie. She created and wrote the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

show ''

Traitors Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its di ...

'' (originally named ''Jerusalem'').

Personal life

She lives with her wife, Katie, and two children in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

Awards

* 2013 winner of first annual Berwin Lee Playwright Awards * 2009 recipient of the Helen Merrill Playwriting Award * Cherry Lane Mentor Project fellow * 2005–06 Susan Smith Blackburn Awards finalist * Liberace Playwriting Fellowship * Howard Stein Scholarship * Three Lecomte de Nouy playwriting awards.

Works

*''Feminine Wash'',

Edinburgh Festival Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as the Edinburgh Fringe, the Fringe or the Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest performance arts festival, which in 2024 spanned 25 days, sold more than 2.6 million tickets and featur ...

*''Until Morning'',

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

*''The Blind'',

Classic Stage Company Classic Stage Company, or CSC, is a classical Off-Broadway theater company. Founded in 1967, Classic Stage Company is one of Off-Broadway's oldest theater companies. CSC is led by Producing Artistic Director Jill Rafson. John Doyle previously ...

, 2005 *''Peer Gynt'', Riverside Theatre *''Great Expectations'', Lucille Lortel Theatre, 2006 *''Living Room in Africa'', 2006, Edge Theater, New York *''Time / Unstuck'', Red Room, NY, 2006 *''2 Soldiers'': The Red Room, NY, 2006 *''Nest'', Signature Theatre, 2007 * ''Nowhere in America'', Keen Teens at The Kirk Theatre, 2008 *''The Parent's Evening'', The Flea, 2010 *''Kin'',

, 2011 *''The Mystery of Love and Sex'',

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 ...

, 2015

Television writing credits

*'' Bruiser'' *'' Smash'' (Season 2) *''

'' (Season 2; two episodes) *''

'' (Four episodes; also credited as series creator) *''

'' (Two episodes) *'' Life After Life''

Bibliography

* *
''Living Room in Africa''
Samuel French Ltd., 2008
''Nest''
Samuel French, 2008 *''Great Expectations'', Playscripts, Inc., 2006 * * * *
The Mystery of Love and Sex
', Samuel French Ltd., 2015 *

'', Oberon Books, 2016

References

External links

at Doollee.com

at Talkin' Broadway * {{DEFAULTSORT:Doran, Bathsheba British women dramatists and playwrights Living people Juilliard School alumni LGBTQ people from London Columbia University School of the Arts alumni Year of birth missing (living people) Writers from London British LGBTQ dramatists and playwrights British LGBTQ screenwriters English lesbian writers 21st-century British dramatists and playwrights British television writers 21st-century American women writers American dramatists and playwrights American women screenwriters American women television writers American television writers 21st-century American screenwriters 21st-century British LGBTQ people British women television writers