“Impassioned” - Guardian
Ella Dorman-Gajic is an award-winning writer, performer, educator and creative producer working across theatre, screen and poetry. A British artist of Serbian and Austrian heritage, Ella’s work is grounded in the female experience, with an interest in sexual politics, coming-of-age and immigration. Her 5-star stage play, Trade, was developed with students at Drama Centre London. It went on an Arts Council Funded UK tour, starting with a sell-out at The Pleasance, and finishing with another sell-out show at Norwich Arts Centre. Trade is published with Salamander Street.
She won Best Screenplay at the Healdsburg International Film Awards (judged by Tom Waits) for her debut short film, Back of the Net. The film is currently in the festival circuit. Ella is represented by Macfarlane Chard as a scriptwriter.
As an actor, she plays Tam in the Radio 4 Drama series Song of the Reed, co-starring Sir Mark Rylance and Sophie Okonedo. She’s starred in 3 multi-award-winning short films, including The Boy With A Camera For a Face (broadcast on Channel 4).
She’s performed her poetry sets around the country, written numerous poetry commissions and her poetry has been published in several publications, including Poetry Wales. She co-hosts/produces Off The Chest, a sell-out London poetry night supported by Arts Council England.
Ella works as a facilitator, dramaturg and tutor, teaching drama to children and mentoring adults. She was a professional mentor for the University of Westminster’s SoH New Writing Festival and is currently a lead workshop facilitator for Broken Silence Theatre’s Playwright’s Hive and her new writing group Just Write It!, held at the Albany’s Deptford Lounge.
When not doing these things, you can find her between Peckham and Brighton, eating vinegary chips or badly singing along to Fleetwood Mac.
★★★★★
“[Trade] should propel writer Ella Dorman-Gajic into being one of those capable people in high demand with the makers of the best of modern theatre.”
- Norwich Eye
★★★★★
“Bold and brilliantly written… fierce, unapologetic and gripping, Trade is a vital and timely piece of theatre.”
Back of the Net
Maya, a passionate young footballer, is given an opportunity that could offer her the future she’s always dreamed of. But now, the one person who inspired her pursuit of this dream, her grandmother, is the only thing holding her back. A heartfelt, bitingly human story of care, female aspiration and the evolution of women’s football in a male-dominated world.
Back of the Net is a multi-award-winning short film directed by Klara Kaliger and written by Ella Dorman-Gajic.
It has been selected for 20+ film festivals globally (including BAFTA and BIFA-accredited festivals) and picked up 5 awards, including ‘Best Screenplay’ (at Healdsburg International Festival, judged by Tom Waits) and ‘Youth Jury Prize’ (at Women X Festival).
It stars Ella Dorman-Gajic and Maureen Casey alongside Emmy-nominee Tom Goodman-Hill. It is Executive Produced by Lewes Depot Cinema, Declan Lowney (director of TED LASSO), Sandro Monetti, Football scholar Jean Williams, Rob MacDonald, Sushant Sharma Bhattarai, Ella Dorman-Gajic.
