Eating Myself at Derby Theatre

Sharing a powerful and tender exploration of our own relationships with food and nurture, Eating Myself shines a light on female identity through the lens of Peruvian society. This poignant production will tour the UK this autumn, offering audiences a communal experience of live onstage cooking, and a stellar soundscape to generate an intimate sensory experience full of flavour for all. 

After Peruvian cooking was forbidden in Pepa’s family home and memories of family traditions start to burst in, she found herself on a mission to delve into her relationship with food as she battles with the demons of weight loss and the pressures that come with this. Sharing stories of her teenage rebellion, her mother’s vegetarianism, and her current cravings, Eating Myself invites audiences into a dreamscape of their own hunger and cravings. Watch as Pepa invites audiences into her kitchen to prepare a soup that represents everything that she truly needs. 

Eating Myself was born out of the urge to talk about the relationship between women and food, and the act of caring for oneself and others. Through methods of storytelling, movement, and music this punchy production aims to invite the audience to reflect on their personal traditions, allowing them the chance to question and reflect on their own relationships with food. 

Written and performed by Pepa Duarte (A Fight Against…, The Royal Court Theatre), join her for a full sensory experience exploring womanhood, body image and tradition in her debut play, directed by Sergio Maggiolo (Jeezus! f*cking Christ, Camden People’s Theatre; The Bit-Players, The Southwark Playhouse). The creative team is made up of mostly migrant voices from a variety of creative backgrounds, sharing a Latin American perspective. 

Writer and performer Pepa Duarte comments, It’s an incredible pleasure to go on tour around England with this show. It is a way to make different cultures meet through a story of self-discovery. Thanks to the work of so many activists and communities we are able to talk about feminism and equality, but these are issues that we have to keep talking about. Women are still under the pressure of society’s expectations of beauty, weight, and gender responsibilities within the home and family. The show is a way to connect with women and men from all cultures, to revise and unlock our prejudice against our own bodies and others. Understanding migration as part of human life, and food as an immense source of tradition and love.  

In a way, I wrote this play to honour all those generations that came before me, to bring them to the table and to thank them for their care and knowledge. I want the audience to feel welcomed at my table and hopefully bring their families with them too. It’s been a pleasure for me to work for all these years in a production that compiles so many flavours from so many places. 

Past praise for Eating Myself:  

Eating Myself has such intense and engrossing theatricality that it creates a yearning – its own kind of hunger. –The Guardian 

A well-crafted piece of theatrical storytelling. Nourishing, and created with a great deal of heart and soul. –The Spy in the Stalls 

– The Upcoming  

– A Younger Theatre  

– The Reviews Hub  

– North West End