PRUDHOE’S Front Street has been temporarily brightened up by a pop-up theatre which will bring a meaningful message to children this Christmas.

Following its move to another location, the former McGee’s hardware store has been transformed into a setting for a family theatre production which got under way last Saturday.

Prudhoe-based theatre company Mortal Fools has transformed the store into a base for its latest production, Melva .

Directed by Anna Ryder, Melva tells the story of a 10-year-old girl – called Melva – who struggles with the idea of being brave, and undertakes an adventure which shows her what she is really capable of.

Writer Danielle Burn, from Cramlington, originally came up with the idea and character as part of a project for Northumberland libraries, and approached Mortal Fools’ artistic director Kiz Crosbie for feedback.

Mortal Fools decided to produce the play and took over the hardware store at 10 Front Street in mid-November, before beginning a make-over of the space, which involved close to 30 people and around 40 litres of paint.

Mortal Fools regularly transforms community venues into theatre spaces as part of its youth theatre programme, Tyne Valley Youth Theatre (TVYT), which runs regular theatre sessions for children and young people aged five to 19 in Tynedale.

The venue on Front Street holds around 40 people, making for an intimate performance. “One thing which is really great is that as a Christmas theatre venue, it’s really quirky and innovative,” explained Kiz.

“As well as that, a lot of theatre made for children can be quite dumbed down and a bit fluffy, but we wanted to do something that was really entertaining but also had a message about it.”

Kiz explained that Mortal Fools have been in discussions with the public health sector about the potential for the play to be delivered in schools, because of its way of discussing children’s mental health in a way that young people will understand.

“Mental health is under huge pressure with funding cuts, but it’s important to get people talking about it.

“I think by doing it in this way, we’re talking about mental health in an entertaining and accessible way and hopefully people will be talking about the issue before they really know they are talking about it.”

Aimed at children aged seven to 11, Kiz said the production captures an audience which isn’t usually catered for in theatre, with pantos and theatre for younger children being far more easy to find.

And in order to get into the mindset of Melva’s character, the team did some development sessions with Year 6 pupils at Ovingham Middle School.

A class of 33 children gave their opinions of Melva, which were instrumental in Mortal Fools developing her character for the stage.

“One thing they said was that they thought Melva was a bit of a wuss at first!

“That’s not really what we wanted to go for; we wanted the audience to be on this journey with Melva and to understand her – so that was really helpful for us in terms of developing her character.

“It was brilliant getting that honest feedback from them. The great thing about kids is that they don’t hold back!”

The Ovingham schoolchildren got a sneak peak of the finished product on Friday at a closed dress rehearsal, before the opening performance on Saturday.

Melva runs until January 6. Tickets are now available from http://www.mortalfools.org.uk/melva, or at a discounted rate for Prudhoe residents from Prudhoe Library.