Pepa Duarte, Actor, Writer and Director

"Captivating, marvellous, enjoyable and unique" is how one critic described Pepa Duarte's one woman show 'Eating Myself' which she wrote and performed across the UK, to rave reviews. Her other works include Migran-té - exploring the intimate and ritualistic act of ‘having tea’ in Latin America, and Señorita Rita, a drag queen from the highlands of Peru in Tory England. Pepa became the first Latinx actor to appear in the BBC Series Father Brown and also performed in 'A Fight Against' at the Royal Court Theatre, and in 'Cinderella - A Latin American Pantomime' at Chipping Norton Theatre.

by Amaranta Wright. Interview by Hannah Davis

After doing her Masters at RADA, Peruvian actor and theatre-maker Pepa Duarte decided that she wanted more: “Everything was so vast and exciting and challenging I couldn't cover it all in just a year.”

Being a bilingual actor in the UK has been a challenge, Pepa admits. "I’m putting in more hours of work in than a native British actor. And on top of that, being an immigrant means I don't have a network of people.” Whilst things are improving, she says “our involvement is conditional. They would like to cast us, but only if we can sound like them."

On the other hand, "being cast in the BBC drama 'Father Brown' is one of the most amazing things that has happened to me - an opportunity to be part of something that’s been on for such a long time, and that’s been so well received by British audiences”.

In the rollercoaster of an acting career, theatre-making is Pepa's refuge, driving her to create more space for herself and her community. “I want to talk about things from a feminist perspective, and a vulnerable perspective”, she states. “I want to write characters where we see strength and vulnerability, and where their journey is crucial to the development of the plot”.

In her critically acclaimed work 'Eating Myself,' Pepa explored womanhood, body image and tradition, and out of it she is hoping to develop a workshop to allow other people to interrogate their own relationships with food and eating.

Such is the variety of Pepa’s oeuvre - she is taking BBC audiences by storm in mainstream broadcasts, whilst leading a multi-sensory investigation into the complex mental practices of herself and those around her. And it is a sure thing that she has more to come.