Eden Ballantyne created Stories Alive as a way of getting his head full of crazy historical characters into the world.  Having spent years creating stories and characters for a variety of touring theatre in education companies, museums and schools, he now works independently across Yorkshire and beyond.

At the Royal Armouries in Leeds, he brought the collections to life as:

• William Adams, an Elizabethan sailor turned Samurai
• Robbie Graham, a Scottish thief, recounting a daring rescue from Carlisle castle during the sixteenth century border wars
• Ivanhoe, the medieval knight, regaling museum-goers with tales of his jousting victories

Eden delivered a series of 12 different actor-in-role workshops covering each theme in the Key Stage 2 history curriculum, from Ancient Egyptians to the Second World War. By inspiring pupils to get in character, this experience enabled them to understand historical events from the inside.

With a degree in Drama in the Community, Eden is nothing if not versatile. Other career highlights include outdoor shows, from Shakespeare in the park to contemporary street theatre, and popular comic entertainment with Thomas the Tank Engine at Butlins.