Alex Somerville is a professional storyteller who works across all ages to engage children and adults across the country in the fun and wonder of stories.

After a BA in psychology and a spell teaching English as a foreign language in Brazil, Alex started telling stories “for the sheer enjoyment of it”. He soon built up an impressive reputation through his work in schools, parties, and on the radio on London-based station Resonance FM. His reputation was further enhanced by his work in art galleries, which includes running Speaking Pictures at Tate Britain, a 90-minute gallery workshop aimed at key stage one and two children. He has been a full-time professional storyteller since 2001.

Alex’s ability to work across children of all ages make his visits an exciting event for the whole school. He can tailor the day to the school’s individual needs, as he is well able to captivate large groups with his performances, or provide very interactive workshops with smaller groups.

As well as his one-day events, Alex also thrives in longer-term projects and residencies, such as a recent 12-week project of storytelling and mask-making called Building a Future with Our Stories. In inner city secondary schools, Alex has worked with Bridie Productions and the Rites of Passage Project on using story telling as a path of maturation into adulthood.

Alex is a member of the Town criers storytelling circle, and is passionate about the restorative power of telling stories. To this end, he has worked in hospitals and in deprived communities, and has contributed to the ART OF REGENERATION project, which was designed to unlock potential, build sustainable communities and transform lives through partnership and the arts.

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