'I'm a traditional oral storyteller in Shrewsbury and I'm bringing tales of ancient Celtic women to stages across the UK'
Meet the Shrewsbury storyteller who is bringnig tales of iconic Celtic women from times gone by to stages across the UK - after leaving a career in marketing
The roots of oral storytelling reach back centuries. It’s a tradition that is shared by different cultures around the world and passed down through the generations.
Danielle Free is passionate about sharing the stories of lesser-known historical women.
Her journey into the world of storytelling began after learning about the significance of oral traditions in Celtic culture while studying for her Masters in Celtic Studies in 2020.
At the time, Danielle, who lives near Shrewsbury, was looking to change direction after falling out of love with her career in marketing.
“I found out about the bards and the druids of the Celtic lands and how storytelling and poetry were so integral. Something within me started to spark again while I was learning about them. On a whim, really, I looked out for storytelling courses and there is a great storyteller called Michael Harvey who was doing an online course. I went along to that for a few months and I absolutely loved it. I thought: this is what I’m supposed to be doing,” she says.
After doing small events at local libraries as a volunteer as well as performing at fetes and fairs, she debuted her first show, The Conditions for Courage, in Cardiff in April last year.
It was inspired by her dissertation, which focussed on the representation of historical Celtic women. “Everybody knows about Boudica but she’s not the only Celtic woman who ever existed,” explains Danielle. “Women in general have been completely wiped out of history unless they’ve done something really amazing or really bad – the women in the middle don’t really get a mention,” she adds.
The show features the stories of three Celtic women – Chiomara, Camma and Eponina and Danielle believes their tales are still relatable today. “They were real women who had to have these massive displays of courage. I think when you are listening to that you might be able to find yourself within them and think: They actually did this. It’s not myth. It’s not made up. If someone can do this, then maybe I can too?”
The show marked the start of a number of different events and collaborations as demand for Danielle’s storytelling performances grew. She took her show to A Sting In The Tale – a storytelling club in Manchester, appeared at Oxford Storytelling Festival and had a sold-out performance in Shrewsbury.
Another project saw her join forces with Hereford-based storyteller Marcus Pibworth to create a show called Wild Gods where they tell the stories of Pan and Dionysus. Danielle has also worked with Janire Denny-Arzalluz of Ray of Sun Adventures for a number of ‘story hikes’ where she tells folk tales connected to the landscape. Last autumn, she ran a storytelling club for children at Shrewsbury Library. It will now be running at Welshpool and Llanfyllin libraries for six weeks starting this month.
Storytelling has been making a resurgence in recent years and Danielle believes part of the appeal is that it helps to build community.
“You can tell a folk tale that is hundreds of years old and people will still find resonance with it and find different meanings,” she says. "Stories create a safe container to have a good chat and discussion that has some depth to it.”
With oral storytelling there is a very fine line between acting and telling a story from memory, says Danielle. “Every time you tell the story, it is different in some way,” she explains. “I think that part of the beauty of the craft is that when you're telling a story, you’re in that world as you are telling it and your audience is there with you, and you feed off of them,” says Danielle. “You also have to factor in wherever you are telling the story and think about whether you can incorporate the landscape and the sounds. It’s the people and the environment that make up the majority of that story,” she adds.
For Danielle, being a storyteller is akin to being a magician and she loves dispelling the common myth that stories are just for children.
“When I’m totally in flow with the story and I know the audience is there with me, it’s so amazing to see how they respond. I don't go with props and I don’t go dressed up, there might be one thing for me to hold or sit on, but it’s all based on imagination. I think it’s really beautiful to be able to bring that sense of wonder back to adults. I think there is a misconception that storytelling, especially oral storytelling, is for kids.
“And they are an amazing audience to have, they are probably the hardest audience to have, because they don’t want to let you get through the story, they want to keep stopping you and asking questions – you really have to adapt when you are telling to kids.
“As adults, I feel sometimes like we forget how to play and we forget how to imagine, so being able to do that for adults or the parents of the child audience does feel like a really special thing to be able to offer. It feels like magic when I do it,” she says.
This year, she is hoping to share The Conditions for Courage with more audiences and take part in more collaborations. “I love folk tales but my absolute passion is finding the stories of historical people and places and bringing them to life. I’m hoping to have some more historical stories on the horizon and to hopefully work with heritage sites that might have a good audience for that,” she adds.
