Interview: Eduarda Nogueira
Eduarda Nogueira, actress, writer, producer
Interviewed by Vincent Guy
Eduarda is a young Portuguese actress who has written a play for this year’s Edinburgh Fringe. She’ll be producing as well as acting in the show; meanwhile raising funds for it by working as a presenter for Johnnie Walker whiskies.
VG – Eduarda, tell me a little bit about the project, how it came to be.
EN – Right. The project I'm doing is a Fringe show called ‘The Three Marias – Women of Word’. It’s inspired by three writers back in the 70s in Portugal: Maria Teresa Horta, Maria Isabel Barreno, and Maria Velho da Costa. They decided together to write a book. It’s about the situation of women in Portugal, and the social, political conditions, which they were not happy with. When I got to know more about them, I was fascinated, especially their bravery, because they knew they were living under a dictatorship. One of the writers had already done a book which was banned and, you know, the police were on their track. Even so they decided, “We aren’t going to be quiet, we aren’t going to be silenced.” And the way they found was through their art, through words. All this story fascinated me. Although they finished the book, they published the book, then within three days, the book was banned in Portugal. They were immediately arrested and put on trial. Yeah, and then all this story inspired people around the world. And it was fascinating because I wanted to do a fringe show this year and I didn't have an idea yet. I just felt like I have here two things that can come together: I want to do a show, and I have a wonderful story to tell that I believe still resonates with today. We are living through all these changes in the world and especially all the rights that we thought we’d conquered in the past, they are being questioned again nowadays. So I decided this is exactly the right time to tell this story and, yeah, start a wee revolution.
VG – Let’s talk a little about you. Tell me about your parents, their influence on you.
EN – Oh, my God, I'm gonna be emotional… 'Cos I miss them so much. So, my mum was an actress as well, though she never did it professionally, but I remember from a young age, when she was rehearsing she would take me along. I never took part in one of her plays though my brother did. So I think the passion comes from her. And from my dad; oh, yes, I believe this. My dad is a dreamer, okay? He's in his 70s now, but he lives fully all the time, seeking for dreams. And I’ll say, “Don't you ever want to rest?” And he goes, “No!” So my capacity of dreaming comes from him.
VG – Apart from your parents, have other family members made a big contribution to your life?
EN – Yes again: brother, aunties, grandparents. I have a cousin as well, she’s just like my big sister, and I look up to her. I always think, what would she be doing in this situation? Because she's so strong. 'Cos she's doing so many things right.
VG – Tell me something about your failures or successes.
EN – I feel like I've been failing a little all my life. But I learned a lot from that.
VG – Tell me about your ambitions, fulfilled or unfulfilled.
EN – Well, the fact that I got the chance to study acting in the UK, in Scotland, that was a dream come true. Yeah, I dreamed that. And I thought, no, it's never going to be possible - but it was. The fact that I now do theatre and performances is just amazing. I'm very proud of myself that I keep going, never quitting. The Fringe show is a dream as well. I always wanted to do a Fringe show. Yeah, I'm on the right path.
VG – What does money mean to you?
EN – Well, money is important too. So we can do what we want to do, not just what we need to do for money. If I have money, I can do things.
VG – Do you have any enemies?
EN – I don't know. Most likely. There are people that I don't really like, but I don't need to contact them. So that's fine.
VG – Are there people you admire?
EN – Yeah absolutely, I really admire my friends.
“The Three Marias” is at Greenside, George Street - Venue 236 (Olive studio)
19th to 23rd August at 12.30pm.
