STORYTELLER Michele O’Brien has started reading bedtime stories every Sunday evening, to be enjoyed online for all during the lockdown.

She's already read 'The Big Noses' from Monty Python star Terry Jones’s Fairy Tales and Fantastic Stories, and hopes the tales will enchant children and grown-ups alike.

“Somehow I’ve converted our little extension at home into a makeshift studio so I can dress up on a set and record these stories,” says the Poole-based actor.

"I started with Terry Jones because that was the book my hand reached for on the shelf and his stories are so magical.

"My great niece and nephew are six and nine and both of them were wrapped up in it. Like Monty Python I think it appeals to people of all ages who love to play, I’m into playfulness, particularly at this time.”

The initiative has been organised in partnership with Lighthouse, Poole – the town's arts centre – and is accessed through its Facebook page.

Like many artists Michele is having to reinvent what she does in line with current restrictions.

This summer she had been planning to tour her new family show, The Ark and Dove to venues including Lighthouse.

Based on the story of two ships that left Cowes on 22 November 1633 bound for the New World, it draws parallels between stories of migration from 17th century England and those we see played out in today’s world.

“I’ve had to pack that show away in the garage and look forward to the time when I can bring it out, but I feel so privileged to have been able to make it at all. I worked with some hugely talented people on the show and I’m sure it will be seen.

"There are a lot of artists and performers who haven’t been so fortunate and are facing incredibly uncertain times as we can’t plan, and we don’t know what will happen with funding.”

Michele is also considering a video project in which she’ll revisit some of the historical characters she has played, from Elizabeth I and Queen Victoria to a volunteer nurse from World War 1 or Granny Cousins who hosts the ghost walks of old Poole.

She said: "I like the idea that people might be able to ask questions online and I could respond to them in Facebook videos.”

The Bedtime Stories stories go live on Lighthouse Facebook page at 7pm on Sundays as part of #SundayFunday.

Visit https://en-gb.facebook.com/lighthousepoole/ to watch an d listen.