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Ellen Renton—Home
  • About
  • Poetry
  • Shows
  • Collaborations
  • Other Work
  • News
  • Contact
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Shows

I am a founding member of In The Works – as a company we bring together poetry and contemporary performance conventions to create minimalist spoken word theatre.

  • Within Sight

    Spoken Word Performance For In The Works, Ongoing

    Commissioned & Supported by Unlimited

    With Funding from Spirit of 2012

    Recipient of The Create Inclusion Award from Creative Scotland

    Shortlisted for ‘Best Spoken Word Show’ Saboteur Award

    Within Sight is a narrative, one-woman poetry performance about running, the Paralympics, and societal attitudes towards disabled people. The show combines poetry, physical movement, and multimedia elements to create a story that has notes of humour, tenderness, pain, and sincerity.

    Within Sight follows its protagonist, who has albinism, as she goes out for a run in an attempt to clear her head after receiving some bad news: she had been training to compete in the 1500 metres at the Paralympics, but has narrowly missed out on being picked for the team. As she runs, she recalls the events that led up to this moment, reflecting on the relationships between her body, her senses, and her sport.

    The show premiered at the Scottish Storytelling Centre in October 2019. The first dates of a planned Scottish tour took place at The Traverse in March 2020, before the rest of the tour was postponed due to COVID-19.

    A digital version of the show was created with support from Unlimited and The Paul Hamlyn Foundation. The film premiered at the Southbank Centre’s Unlimited Festival in January 2021, and was shown as part of Summerhall’s hybrid Edinburgh Fringe programme. Check the News page for current tour dates.

    In The Works profile for 'Within Sight'

    Video

    Within Sight trailer

    Press

    It is Renton’s recalling of the emotional and practical challenges set out by an unthinking (and often uncaring) world that strike the hardest.

    — The Wee Review

    Credits

    Written and performed by
    Ellen Renton
    Music by
    Jack Hinks
    Sound design by
    David Devereux / Tin Can Audio
    Video design by
    Kiana Kalantar-Hormozi.
    Produced by
    Bibi June
    Commissioned and supported by
    Unlimited
    Supported by
    National Lottery through Creative Scotland
    BSL
    Rachel Amey
    Digital version created by
    Sarah Grant

    Press

    Within Sight was born out of several frustrations; with the lack of disability access to theatre, with the constant ignorant and unfair media representations of disability, and with a society that has convinced itself we have overcome ableism when in truth, we have a long way to go. I wanted to create a show that stemmed from this anger, but also allowed for some humour and tender moments, because rounded portrayals of disabled characters are so few and far between.

    — ‘10 Questions with Within Sight’s Ellen Renton’ - Traverse Interview
    “Within Sight” publicity shot. A woman with albinism in blue running clothes is running down a tree-lined park path towards the camera.
    Credit: Bibi June
    View Image Gallery (3 images)
    Live Photo of “Within Sight”: a woman with albinism in blue running clothes is sitting in the centre of a blank, dark stage, shadows obscuring her face. Live Photo of “Within Sight”: a woman with albinism in blue running clothes is standing in the centre of a blank, dark stage.

    Within Sight is an exceptional piece of spoken word theatre, Renton’s performance is honest, self-aware and has clear intentions

    — Review Sphere
  • The 900 Club

    Spoken Word Theatre For In The Works, 2018

    Recommended by The Huffington Post

    Five years after the death of their friend, Emily, Avery, Fi, and Mac reunite to celebrate his memory. They take the 900 Megabus from Glasgow to Edinburgh where there is no escaping old memories – hilarious, heartbreaking, or otherwise. Finally ready to confront each other, themselves, and the past, the four estranged friends get together for a reprise of their annual camping trip. The audience are invited to join the journey and eavesdrop on the sometimes heartwarming, often awkward reunion of the foursome.

    The 900 Club takes the long view on grief, guilt, and friendship. Created in 2018, the show challenges how we deal with mental illness and our memories of the dead. The show debuted at the Scottish Poetry Library as part of the 2018 Edinburgh Fringe. It then went on to feature at UNCON 2.0 at Perth Theatre and the To Absent Friends festival in Glasgow, and was performed on buses as part of UKYA City Takeover: Nottingham 2019 and Festival of Audacity in Birmingham. The show returned to the Scottish Poetry Library for a short run during the 2019 Edinburgh Fringe.

    In The Works profile for 'The 900 Club'

    Press

    The heavy and important subject matter of death is presented with care and the audience never feels like they are in unsafe or dangerous hands. The topics are tackled with love and emotion and this makes The 900 Club feel deeply poignant, intimate and special.

    — The Wee Review

    Video

    The 900 Club trailer

    Credits

    Writer/Performer/Producer
    Bibi June
    Writer/Performer
    Shannon O’Neill
    Writer/Performer
    Ross McFarlane
    Writer/Performer
    Ellen Renton
    Live Photo of "The 900 Club": four people perform in front of an audience seated on a bus. Photo taken at UK Young Artists Festival in Nottingham..

    The 900 Club is a captivating and emotional journey through grief and guilt.

    — The Sunday Post
  • A Matter of Time

    Spoken Word Performance For In The Works, 2017

    Longlisted for ‘Best Collaborative Work’ Saboteur Award

    A Matter of Time is a four-piece, narrative-driven, existentially devastating spoken word show, crammed with energy, poignancy, and time travel. It takes you through a lifetime- and then a life again, as the protagonist is thrust back in time to revisit every mistake made and every euphoric moment lived through. Four different voices represent the four different ages we see them experience. First in a linear order, but them, as we return to the past, in a collective bickering over the life lived, each from the perspective their own experience gives them. The show asks difficult questions about responsibility and choice, and deals with themes of love, time, and climate change.

    The show was created during the first half of 2017 and premiered at the 2017 Edinburgh Fringe, where it had a successful week-long run at the Banshee Labyrinth as part of the Free Fringe. AMoT was also performed as part of the 2018 Hidden Door festival in the Leith State Cinema.

    In The Works profile for 'A Matter of Time'

    Video

    A Matter of Time trailer

    Credits

    Writer/Performer
    Bibi June
    Writer/Performer
    Shannon O’Neill
    Writer/Performer
    Ross McFarlane
    Writer/Performer
    Ellen Renton
    Live photo of "A Matter of Time": two women on a stage, both holding red baseball caps and apparently lost in thought.

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