Truly is a Bristol based playwright, actor and solo performer with a masters in dramatic writing from the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. During her master's program, she wrote Seeing You, a short radio drama that was recently feature on BBC Upload, you can also find it on Spotify. Her play, It's Not Goodnight, It's Just Goodnight was featured in Bristol Old Vic's Writer's Block showcase. She has worked with Manhattan Theatre Club, The Cherry Lane Theatre, and The Colonial Theatre of Rhode Island. Her plays have been performed at Cherry Picking, an annual new play festival. During the pandemic, she wrote lyrics for Our Mutual Voices, a contemporary opera project produced by the Manhattan School of Music. Recently, Truly adapted The Picture of Dorian Gray for stage.
As a strong feminist, Truly writes pieces for stage, radio, and screen that amplify women's stories. Her work speaks to the experience of coming of age as a woman in a patriarchal world, and engages with themes of sexuality, loss of innocence, and grief. Her ultimate goal is to create the characters she needed when she was a teenager.
Ellie is a theatre director, founder of Dark Skies Theatre and Associate director of Fox and Hound Theatre Company. Originally from rural South West Scotland, she has recently completed her MA in Drama Directing at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and now resides in Bristol full-time. Prior to this, she received a BA in Drama and Performance from Queen Margaret University.
Ellie has a keen interest in gritty and thought-provoking work and has directed Girl in the Machine at the Wardrobe Theatre, Growing Pains at the Western Studio at Bristol Old Vic, and Pigment of your Imagination at the Pleasence in London. She prides herself in her empathic approach to working; collaborating with the varied and colourful experiences brought by the people in the room and has a certificate in both Cultivating an Inclusive Theatre Making Environment and Increasing understanding of Autism – having worked with Paragon and Performance Collective Stranraer.
As a visually led storyteller, Ellie enjoys layering mediums to create visually stimulating multimedia performances and has worked in collaboration with CAMERA at the University of Bath to explore leading rehearsals in Virtual Reality.
She is particularly interested in taking theatre to rural spaces and small venues creating inclusive and supportive environments to make empowering performances that are accessible for both theatre-makers and audiences alike. Other credits include: A Trio of Tennessee Williams, which will be touring this Autumn, and Slipping Through My Fingers which is a Radio play that was streamed on BBC Radio Bristol.
With Support from Artspace Lifespace
Special Thanks
Robbie McDonnell, Steph Burridge, Frank Forge, Marcy Siskind, Dave and Roz Stevens, Christine Sadler, Carron Gault, The Redgrave Theatre, Extract Coffee Roaster, Bristol Beer Factory, Jozi, Pizza Rova, Nicola Clark