Storyteller Danyah Miller chatted to Anthony Cornish about her one-woman show, working with Michael Morpurgo, and believing in unicorns.

Telling tales from a young age, experienced storyteller Danyah Miller promises to wow an audience of all ages in her performance of Michael Morpurgo’s I Believe in Unicorns. 

After its West End production at the Vaudeville earned it glowing reviews, Mrs Miller and her creative team have taken their set to Richmond where it will be on at the Orange Tree theatre this Christmas.

Mrs Miller said: “I feel really blessed to be doing this story. What’s so magical is that books and stories open up in this incredibly wonderful, imaginative world and we go to all sorts of places.

“I don’t want to give anything away but when you first come into the theatre you just see a pile of books and that’s not what you see as you journey through the story when the books begin to open and reveal all sorts of magic.

“The set that I work with is like having another person on stage with me.”

Collaborating with Michael Morpurgo has been a wonderful experience for the raconteur but she admits her heart was pounding the first time he came to watch her performance, relaxing only when he gave her a standing ovation.

“He loves the show and was absolutely amazing in just allowing us to go in whatever direction we felt.

“Some writers can be a bit precious about their work, understandably, but he understands the medium of theatre and therefore what we never wanted to do was just show the book on stage because he’s done it.

“What we wanted to do was add our theatrical magic to it. There’s a good chance it will make you believe in unicorns. As we say in our blurb, I would challenge you to stay as a non-believer.”

Mrs Miller, who has a 14-year-old-daughter and 24-year-old stepson, says being a mother has definitely helped her as a storyteller. As well as performing she teaches her art at the International School of Storytelling, Oxford Story Museum and in theatres, schools and universities.

“I do storytelling training and people say over and over again how it just transforms their life and how it’s touched them in a way that they never believed was possible.

“We are all storytelling creatures. We are hardwired into storytelling.”

Having never worked in Richmond’s Orange Tree before, it is an exciting challenge for Mrs Miller who loves its intimate space.

“The Orange Tree is a beautiful theatre. The team there are just the loveliest and I’m really excited.”

I Believe in Unicorns will be on from 23 December until 9 January. Go to orangetreetheatre.co.uk

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