While Penny was a shy child there was always a performer waiting to burst out. And it wasn’t until her thirties that this. became a serious focus. She trained with Theatre Resource (now Zinc Arts) as a lead-in to taking a year to a full year taking a performing arts diploma with award wining globally recognised Graeae Theatre Company.
This led to a Merit pass and the realisation that performance was the way ahead with her poetry and more. Parallel to this, her profile as an activist expanded and she became one of the go-to voices for the media.
Her first one-woman show, Lost In Spaces, premiered to strong reviews at Soho Theatre, London, and then toured England. Her appearances at established spoken word nights increased and the publication of Come Home Alive raised her profile further, which led to the development of The Naked Punk project.
She was booked for the Royal Albert Hall sharing the bill with Selena Godden. In 2019 Penny was one of the Saturday night sets at Yik Yak Poetry Shack, WOMAD, invited by curator award-winning poet Liv Tork. At the. end of The Naked Punk Era, in the. depths of lockdown she presented Penny On The Telly, a unique live-streamed event in partnership with Disability Arts OnLine.
Loved by the media for multiple commentaries Penny has been a guest on BBC News, Channel 4 News, Newsnight, Sky News, BBC Radio5 Live, and BBC Radio 4 including Woman’s Hour and Saturday Live. And she’s always happy to consider more.
Other highlights of Penny’s performance history include -
Edinburgh Festival
Blue Stockings Bookshop, New York
Norwich Writer’s Centre
Hastings Fringe and LitFest
Rough Trade Bristol
Coastal Currents Open Studio Event (2021)
Multiple Online Performances
Praise for Penny’s work -
’I just wanted to drop you a line to say a huge THANK YOU for last night’s ‘Rip up the Page’ session. It was such a warm room, and you ran the workshop so well – I know everyone got so much out of it. It was one of my favourite TLC workshops I’ve ever done.’
- Joe Sedgwick, Editorial Services Manager, The Literary Consultancy
A selection of YouTube, Podcast and Radio/TV Links
Should you wish to work with Penny Pepper in any of her capacities of Speaker, Journalist, Activist and Writer then please connect via the link below which will put you in contact with Penny’s management team at Freshly Press: