Podcast tells tall tales for children
■ Whatistalltaleswithalex and howdid it comeabout?
I am an actor and voice artist. The Tall Tales with Alex podcast came to life from stories that I created for my nephews, as a way of connecting with them through the distance that lockdown created. I have two brilliant nephews. One of them I have yet to hold, as he was born a couple of days before lockdown, but I thought it would be nice for my voice to still be a presence around him. I can’t wait for the day when I can finally hold him. The eldest I’m very close to and making him laugh and smile has always been one of my favourite things to do. The joy that my family got from these stories made me want to share them more widely. My hope is that my stories will become a regular feature in many families’ lives. I want to build something that children will remember fondly when they’re grown up and want to share with their own children.
■ What sort of stories do you tell?
They are jam packed with all kinds of funny characters and silly voices. I’ve previously worked on lots of cartoons and video games, so I’ve brought all my skills into Tall Tales. One story is an ongoing serial adventure about a boy named River and a talking monkey named PRRRPT that lives in a tree in his garden. The main focus of this tale is helping children understand the world around them. The other stories I write are standalone adventures that take your family on all kinds of weird and wacky adventures, full of silly voices. You’ll meet pirates, cowboys, robots, aliens – anything you can imagine! Ultimately I write to entertain, spark the imagination and expand the vocabulary of children listening.
■ What do you love about stories?
My favourite thing about performing the stories is bringing all my professional skills into the voices. But my favourite thing about the whole process is hearing and seeing the children’s reactions.
As well as lovely feedback I also getsentvoiceclipsandpictures that children have drawn. That makes me really happy. I think storytelling is very important. It’s been around as long as humans have been able to talk. Stories are vehicles that can transport us anywhere, but they’re also mirrors that we hold up to ourselves and teach us about what we hold truly important.
■ What were your favourite stories as a child?
Always the ones my parents told me. My Dad used to make up stories about a mouse named Henry, and I still remember it vividly to this day. This is the same feeling I want to create with children everywhere.
■ How can we access your stories?
Tall Tales with Alex is available as a free-to-listen podcast on all major podcast streaming services, such as Apple Podcasts and Spotify. All you have to do is search.
■ Subscribe/follow to find out when a new story is released. For more on Instagram @ talltaleswithalex