‘There was a savij…’ - so begins poor speller Blue Baker’s story for his English teacher, Mrs Malloy, and so too begins David Almond’s glimpse into the soul of a grief-stricken lad struggling to cope with the death of his father at the same time as fighting off the fearsome bully, Hopper.

The subject matter of this world premiere at Live Theatre, Newcastle, until Saturday, may not sound like a barrel of laughs, but such is Hexham writer Almond’s sure and witty touch that there are many laugh-out-loud moments to lighten the shade.

Almond, perhaps best known for his children’s book, Skellig, transformed into a successful film with the fallen angel played memorably by Tim Roth, is mining a similar strange vein here.

Encouraged by Mrs Malloy, Blue creates a character he calls the Savage who lives in a cave, under a chapel by the River Tyne, and throws the bones of his cannibalised victims down a deep, dark pit shaft.

The Savage is at once an expression of his torment at the sudden death of his dad and an avenger against cruel Hopper’s taunts.

But then it’s only a story to keep Mrs Malloy happy – or is it?

As the narrative progresses, we witness Blue and his creation, both played with assurance by Dean Bone, become one, culminating in a fiery, demonic dance that had the audience rapt.

This is a beautiful play from one of our finest writers and the four actors are superbly cast.

Dani Arlington is fantastic as everyone’s favourite English teacher and also plays Blue’s mum with tenderness and a wisdom beyond her years.

Adam Welsh demonstrates a natural comedic touch as the football-obsessed schoolmate of Blue, but is convincingly sinister as Hopper, whilst Kate Okello brings both pathos as Blue’s bereaved sister and gritty northerness as his school chum Elaine.

Their singing and dancing really adds to the performance and choreographer Lee Proud ought to be, well – proud.

Set designer Alison Ashton has created an amazingly atmospheric backdrop, featuring driftwood, rope and iron ladders that simultaneously serves as the boy’s bedroom, a watery wharf and the Savage’s eerie lair.

This is a play about the power of words and Blue’s words – and his drawings of the Savage (really Dave McKean’s illustrations from Almond’s book) – are projected onto the back of the set along with other stunning visual effects.

Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are is referenced at one point and Blue’s journey does at times seem similar to that of Max in the children’s picture book – it confronts our savage side and the positive healing that going a bit wild can bring.

And it examines how characters and stories can take on lives of their own as this story has, beginning as a short story for TV, transmuting into a short novel, illustrated book and now this engaging play.

As Mrs Malloy says, “This is what creativity does. It moves the body, it moves the mind, it moves the soul.”

Go see.