Described as “an inspired storyteller” by Peter Lord, of Aardman Animations, and “a sublime performer” by Shappi Khorsandi, Debs is an internationally acclaimed, multi-award-winning storytelling artist. She brings Dauntless: Grace O’Malley, Pirate Queen – the story of Grainne ni Mhaille, aka Grace O’Malley, the legendary Irish clan chief and queen of the sea – to Leeds (Oct 29), Wakefield (Nov 29) and Barnsley (Dec 5).

Can you tell us a little bit about Grainne ni Mhaille?

She was a remarkable woman. She was born in 1530 and lived in County Mayo in Ireland. She was the daughter of a Gaelic chieftain and became a clan chief in her own right – this was so rare as to be almost unheard of. She was a trailblazer.

She became quite notorious and was known as ‘Queen of the Clans of Mayo’ by the time she was in her 30s, ruling over 200 families. She was a successful trader and seafarer who then became a very powerful opponent and target for the English, who were busy subjugating Ireland at the time.

From the 1560s onwards she suffered a lot under the English. Her reputation grew but it was a hard life and by the time she was 60 she was living on her ship. Despite all this, she lived into her 70s, which really is quite something.

Why did you want to tell her story on stage?

I wanted to tell it because it’s an historical example of a very clever, powerful, and remarkable woman who defied expectations and made her own rules. And I wanted to tell this story because it’s a story from the west of Ireland, where my grandmother was from.

I’m also fascinated by the whole Elizabethan period. I was introduced to it in great detail when I was working at the Globe Theatre, where I was an associate practitioner for 17 years. Then I was commissioned by the Royal Armouries to do a storytelling show about a female warrior, and I just thought she was someone whose story was really worth telling.

“History is written by the victors usually, and often those victors are male, and here we have a history of this Irish woman’s life written by her own hand”

Tell us a bit about your show?

It’s storytelling, so I’m alone on stage. No fancy lights, no costume, no props. I have just a chair, which I use in different ways. I’m not a character. I’m very much me. But in collaboration with the audience – that is, with their imaginations – I create a whole world.

The show tells her life story. I use film imagery a lot in the retelling. You find out a lot about Grainne’s life, and the connection between her and Queen Elizabeth I. What I find really interesting is that most of the source material and what we know about her, comes from her own hand, because she wrote letters in answer to questions from Elizabeth when they were planning to meet.

History is written by the victors usually, and often those victors are male, and here we have a history of this Irish woman’s life written by her own hand, which to me is really fascinating.

Where does your passion for storytelling come from?

I don’t really know. Maybe it comes from family. My nan could make a trip to the supermarket sound like an adventure. I started in youth theatre at the Birmingham Rep Youth Workshop when I was 14. I was quite a shy kid and when I walked in there I just remember feeling a complete wave of relief that there were people I felt I could be myself with, and the floodgates just opened to all the possibilities my imagination could bring me.

The other big influence was working at the Globe. It’s an open-air theatre so you’ve got all the elements vying for attention – pigeons, airplanes, you name it. I feel like it’s a true storytelling space and that definitely had a massive effect on me.

What have been your biggest career highlights so far?

The first thing that comes to mind is performing to 5,000 people in Utah at the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival in the US. The feeling of so many people imagining with you and responding to you, is like rocket fuel. It’s incredible.

During that trip I also performed at an indoor space to about 400 people. I was doing King Lear and a storm broke overhead. We were in the desert so nobody was expecting a storm, but I could hear it before anybody else could, because they were listening to me. So when it came to the famous lines “Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks!” the heavens were just going crazy above – the sound guy couldn’t believe what was happening.

In early 2020 I directed an adaptation of Bleak House for Creation Theatre at Blackwells Bookshop in Oxford. We turned this famous bookshop into a performance space, and I really enjoyed the challenge of trying to integrate music and the environment and themes of the play.

In 2019, for the anniversary of the Peterloo Massacre, I wrote and directed a play called Rising Up about one night in the life of two women, one from 2019 and one from 1819 who was caught up in the massacre. It premiered at HOME Manchester in their main space. I am so proud of making that play.

There are so many other highlights, which is why I feel I’ve been so lucky in my life. I’m from a working-class background. We didn’t go to the theatre. I went to the panto once as a kid but that was it. I’d been to the theatre once by the time I was 14, with school. So the idea that I now make a living doing this is something I still find incredible.

“Stories like this, and theatre spaces where we can get together to share them, are incredibly important”

Why is it important that shows like Dauntless and the lives of women like Grainne are told on the stage?

We’ve come a long way, but I don’t think I’m being controversial when I say women don’t always get their voices heard as much, or as assiduously listened to, as male voices.

All sorts of things happen in this story. So for me it goes beyond gender, because it shows all shades of our humanity. It shows this woman loving people and it shows her being violent towards people. It shows this woman defending herself and asserting herself. It’s funny, it’s sad. It’s full of tragedy and loss. It’s full of frustration and righteous anger, but also it’s full of flawed humans. And in a world where we’re increasingly encouraged to be polarised, I think stories like this, and theatre spaces where we can get together to share them, are incredibly important.

What do you hope audiences take from your show?

If I do my job right they will laugh, they will cry, they’ll feel exhilarated, empowered, educated, and inspired. And they won’t notice that it’s been 90 minutes. Hopefully they will have seen a film play out inside their head. They’ll have a date with their own imagination, as well as with me and Grainne.

Tour dates

Hawksworth Wood Village Hall, Leeds – Oct 29

The Cluntergate Centre, Wakefield – Nov 29

St. John’s Parish Hall, Staincross, Barnsley – Dec 5

You can book tickets here.