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 performing arts diploma with award wining globally recognised Graeae Theatre Company.

After a Merit pass, she realised 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 has shared the bill at London’s Royal Albert Hall with award winning author Salena Godden. In 2019 Penny was one of the Saturday night sets at Yik Yak Poetry Shack, WOMAD, invited by curator award-winning poet Liv Torc.

Another one woman show - The Naked Punk, came to an end shortly before lockdown began. In the depths of lockdown she pivoted and 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 -

The London Book Fair 2024
The 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