About ME
Hello! I am Olivia, a professional storyteller based in London, originally from Northern Ireland.
I have been telling stories all my life and professionally for over fourteen years. I have an extensive repertoire of traditional folktales and historical stories. I am also frequently commissioned to devise and perform site-specific original stories. I work regularly with many of the major names in the cultural sector – such as Windsor Castle, the British Museum, the National Gallery, Westminster Abbey, the National Portrait Gallery, the National Trust, the British Library and Buckingham Palace.
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.
Recent commissions include...
- Delivering live on-line storytelling for the Royal Parks, Open House London and the London Irish Centre
- Storytelling for London Irish Centre's Hallowe'en Celebration
- Performing at Westminster Abbey's October Family Day
- Creating bespoke stories for an online collaboration between The Big Draw and RIBA
- Writing and recording a story on the history of the Temple of Mithras for London Mithraeum
- Creating and delivering on-line school sessions telling the story of Boudica for Verulamium Museum
- Producing an on-line sensory storytelling session for the British Museum, re-telling the myth of Odysseus
- Creating a 'Make Your Own Story Walk' activity for Culture Mile
- Recording a series of stories inspired by the life of artist George Frederic Watts for Watts Gallery's Watts at Home programme
- Creating pilot storytelling sessions for the Science Museum
- Creating and performing family storytelling sessions for the Barbican's Into the Night: Cabarets & Clubs in Modern Art exhibition
- Discussing performance storytelling on BBC London
- Creating and delivering early morning opening storytelling sessions for families with autism at the British Library, British Museum, Postal Museum, Museum of Order of St John and Museum of London
- Curating and hosting Ships In The Night adult storytelling evenings on board the Cutty Sark
- Creating and delivering adult storytelling based on Leonardo da Vinci's fables at the Queen's Gallery
- Creating storytelling performances for the Spellbound exhibition at the Ashmolean Museum
What people have said about me...
"I’ve had the pleasure of working with Olivia Armstrong at the Museum of London, the National Gallery and as part of Open House Families festival. Olivia brings incredible imagination, enthusiasm and magic to every story telling event she delivers. Through careful and considered research, Olivia can bring any subject alive for families through her unique and interactive storytelling. From historical industrial objects to masterpieces painted by famous artists, Olivia creates ways of enabling families from all backgrounds to form connections with venues and their collections. 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 has been helping keep our visiting families spellbound for the last 2 years. As part of The Royal Parks’ Mission: Invertebrate project, Olivia has developed several original interactive stories for us, bringing her creativity and flair to every performance. She is wonderfully engaging, inspiring and a joy to work with."
- Alice Laughton (The Royal Parks)
"Olivia is amazing and keeps all the children engaged – we love bringing our daughters – 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