About ME
Hello! I am Olivia, a professional storyteller, based in London and originally from Northern Ireland. I work with all ages and communities. From museums to universities, broadcasters to libraries, caves to castles, I am your one-stop shop for storytelling.
I have an extensive repertoire of traditional folktales and historical stories, and am frequently commissioned to create site-specific original stories.
I work with many of the major names in the cultural sector – from the British Museum and the National Gallery to Westminster Abbey and Buckingham Palace. I have also collaborated on storytelling projects with everyone from the University of Utrecht to the Royal Society of British Architects, the National Literacy Trust to English Heritage.
In addition to telling stories, I work extensively on storytelling projects with adults and children who have special educational needs or disabilities. I also devise and lead storytelling and story-making workshops for people of all ages.
Illustration (left) by Vicky Scott
Current and recent projects include...
- Curating and hosting adult storytelling evenings in a specially commissioned story tent at Westminster Abbey, during summer 2023 and 2024.
- Writing and performing two talks on magic and myth in opera and ballet for the Royal Opera House's Insight programme, the most recent of which can be watched here: Insights: Magic and Myth in Opera and Ballet.
- Creating and delivering sensory story tours for visually impaired people at the British Museum.
- Writing and delivering a site-specific ghost story for families, October half term 2024 at Hampton Court Palace.
- Performing Halloween storytelling at Chelsea Physic Garden.
- Featured storyteller at two 2024 Irish storytelling festivals, the Glens of Antrim Storytelling Festival and the Fadó Fadó Storytelling Festival.
- Creating and delivering a programme of family and SEND storytelling for London Wetland Centre, summer 2024.
- Resident storyteller at West Horsley Place - home of BBC 1's Ghosts - including curating and hosting adult storytelling evenings throughout 2023 and 2024.
Other projects include...
- Working with the Science Museum on a major project to pilot the use of storytelling within museum science education
- Creating storytelling performances for the 2023 reopening of the National Portrait Gallery
- Creating and performing Coronation stories for families at the Royal Mews
- Devising the Create Your Own Sensory Story book for the Postal Museum
- Curating and hosting Ships In The Night adult storytelling evenings on board Cutty Sark
- Writing and recording stories for Watts Gallery's Smartify app
- Creating Through the Cracked Mirror - an adult storytelling performance for William Morris Gallery
- Collaborating with the curators of the Spellbound exhibition at the Ashmolean Museum to create bespoke storytelling performances for adults and families on the history of witchcraft
- Performing traditional Irish folktales on stage at the London St Patrick's Day Celebration in Trafalgar Square
- Enabling young people from the Intercultural Youth Development Association to create and perform stories on immigration at the National Maritime Museum
- Performer at 2022 Festival at the Edge storytelling festival
- Collaborating with dancers and the Royal Collection archivists to create and perform Masterpieces of Motion, a celebration of Leonardo da Vinci at Windsor Castle
- Creating a Make Your Own Story Walk activity for Culture Mile
- Devising and leading storytelling walks for London Museum, linking their former site at London Wall with their new site at Smithfield Market
- Creating family storytelling performances for the Royal Parks summer roadshows
What people have said about me...
"Olivia brings incredible imagination, enthusiasm and magic to every story telling event she delivers. Families are always mesmerised by Olivia’s incredible performances and they return to venues time after time to enjoy her wonderful stories. I would definitely recommend Olivia to any venue wishing to engage with a diversity of families in a bespoke and memorable fashion." - Sophie Draper (Open City)
"Olivia is wonderfully engaging, inspiring and a joy to work with."
- Alice Laughton (The Royal Parks)
"Olivia is amazing and keeps all the children engaged – thanks for the memories!"
"Most fantastic storytelling. Olivia is amazing. She should be here more often."
"Feeling even more festive now – what a beautiful, magical story. We came in the summer, and this has been in the diary for months!"
- audience members at Windsor Castle Christmas storytelling performances