An absolute powerhouse
The Distance is an athletically impressive, beautifully written and ultimately hopeful piece of theatre, drawing on Ben Norris’s own journey as a former GB long-distance runner. It explores obsession, determination, ambition and drive, while asking what happens when the pursuit of being the best begins to take over your life.
At the heart of the performance is a striking scaffolding structure, almost like a box or a cage, with a treadmill inside. At first glance, it could easily resemble a prison – a physical representation of the obsession and pressure that can consume an athlete. Yet the way Norris moves around it tells a very different story. He hangs from it, climbs it, swings from it and moves effortlessly between its different levels, using the structure with an incredible sense of freedom. It becomes less a prison and more a playground, a track and a world of its own.
Norris is running on and off throughout the performance, repeatedly returning to the treadmill and pushing his body to extraordinary limits while continuing to tell the story. His physical endurance is astonishing, and the running becomes an integral part of the storytelling.
The writing is beautiful, offering poetic and unexpected ways of seeing running, competition and life. The image of a gap opening amongst runners – “like a yawn, and like a yawn – it will close” – is a wonderful example of the writing’s ability to turn a moment in a race into something much bigger.
Norris’s multiple characterisations are superb, bringing to life school friends, coaches and other people from his journey with humour and warmth. The audience interaction is equally wonderful, particularly when one woman is given the role of his mother and repeatedly invited to add her own replies. These moments are spontaneous, heartfelt and genuinely warming.
The cinematic lighting and music complement the piece beautifully. Even when Ben’s mic stopped working around two-thirds through, Norris continued to fill the space and maintain the atmosphere so completely that no storytelling was lost.
Most importantly, The Distance is hopeful. It is about coming out of the obsession, learning to live, and recognising that life doesn’t have to be defined by being the best.
Summerhall – Main Hall, Edinburgh
6-31 August 2026 (not 18 or 25 August)
6:00pm
Tickets are available through the official Edinburgh Festival Fringe website