“Did it ever occur to you that I kept the secret to protect you?”

 Rúin: Gaelic for “secrets” / Ruin: To damage irreparably

Rúin is the second play by Wallis Hamilton Felton and her first full length one. It tells the story of Louisa, who has recently returned home to Ireland having lived abroad for five years. Warped by a secret and steering her relationship with her Mother and Grandmother, Louisa discovers that some secrets are better kept hidden. It’s a play about matriarchy and challenging how far we go willing to go protect the ones we love.

Arts Funding, June 2021

In June 2021, Wallis received The Agility Award from the Irish Arts Council. This award aims to support individual professional freelance artists and arts workers at any stage in their careers to do one or more of the following:

• Develop their practice

• Develop their work

• Develop their skills

• Create new work

• Present new work

The award will enable Wallis to facilitate a three day online workshop of the latest script. It will also allow Wallis to dedicate time to completing her most recent draft, with the aim to use this funding to have a finalised, completed playscript.

The Space, February 2021

Rúin was selected for a professional, rehearsed reading in February 2021 as part of ScriptSpace at The Space. ScriptSpace is a script development service delivered by The Space, which culminates in ‘prepared readings’ of brand new plays, followed by an informal feedback session and networking opportunity.

The reading provided the crucial first steps for Wallis in the development of this play. More information about the staged reading can be found here.