Renny’s long acting career has stood the test of time; gaining many awards as an actor, writer and director. He has worked extensively in theatre, on television, radio and in film and is always keen to experience something new.
He has won a Manchester Evening News Best Supporting Actor award for his performa
nce as Wemmick in Greg Hersov’s production of Great Expectations at the Royal Exchange, Manchester, and was nominated as The Stage’s Best Actor at the Edinburgh Festival. He has also played some of the most demanding Shakespearian roles in the canon including: Capulet, Claudius, Puck, Laertes, Banquo and Launcelot Gobbo as well as the monumental Salieri in Amadeus…twice! Renny became known to millions as the villain Sizzler in Brookside and now looks forward to the whole series being brought to a new audience when it is repeated. Most recently he has been playing Dr. Gower in the Tower series 2 and Harry Pettifer in Miss Scarlet and the Duke Series 4. He also played the lead’s chauffeur Joe in a film due for release this year…Upgraded, set in London and New York…filmed in Leeds!!
Renny won The Dark Chat Best Director award for his production of his play Bare at The Edinburgh Festival. The same play won a coveted Scotsman Fringe First and a previous version won the Michael Elliott prize in the Mobil Playwriting Competition.
The Alphabet Girl, received glowing reviews…so much so that it was nominated and subsequently won a Best Fringe Performance award in the 2015 Manchester Theatre Awards; it then won the National Studio Theatre Award for Best Actress 2015. The Alphabet Girl was then produced at the Coliseum Theatre, Oldham in repertoire with Renny’s 2-hander Katie Crowder, in which he starred as Bill Ashton and which he directed, to great acclaim.
D’Eon, the true and bizarre story of the Chevalier D’Eon de Beaumont – 18th century French spy, Prussian war hero, English diplomat, expert swordsman, outrageous drunk and transgender provocateur premiered in February 2018 at Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester and received multiple glowing 5* reviews, a huge Twitter and Facebook endorsement and played to sold-out houses. It was then produced in Athens for autumn 2019 at Aggelon Vima, running for three months as well as being optioned for a screenplay.
His one-woman play, A Dangerous Woman, premiered at Hope Mill Theatre in June 2018, received a cheering ovation and then went on to play at the 2018 Edinburgh Festival where it received rave reviews. The option to produce this in 2023 has been picked up so please watch this space for further news.
Renny’s one time ambition to venture into the world of fights and stunt coordinating turned into a parallel career which can be found on his fightdirectoruk website at the bottom of this page. Renny held the position of fight master at Manchester School of Acting (Manchester Metropolitan University) & The Arden School of Theatre for many years. He has held positions of Chair with two leading teaching academies and was elected to serve on the British Actor’s Equity Stage Committee and the Equity Creative Team Specialist Committee, The Equity Register of Fight Directors and The Equity Register of Fight Directors Working Party. He has also had huge success teaching students and actors with special needs, particularly poignant as his twin adult sons have Fragile X Syndrome.
Renny’s technical skills are far-reaching and include: senior grade in Iwama style aikido, qualified fencing coach, a supremely experienced horseman with a practical working knowledge of horse drawn vehicles, horse archery, cavalry formation, jumps and dressage. Baritone voice and basic dancing ability.
Renny is now gaining popularity as a public speaker with engagements for The Royal Exchange, Manchester and Oldham Coliseum on his CV and the most recent arising out of his play D’Eon.
Lloyds of London and the IUA asked him to speak at their first lunch of the year at The America Square Conference Centre…a larger venue due to overwhelming demand.
Please read through the website, watch the showreels or simply use Renny’s contact page and he will be back in touch immediately.
Here’s a quick link to my fightdirectoruk website: Renny’s Fight Director website.
