"It is rare to find an organisation with this quality, community focus, and ambition."
-Rob Huggins, Chief Executive Liberdade Community Development Trust
Mortal Fools is a multi-award-winning theatre, drama, and creative learning company based in Northumberland - working with children and young people using drama and creative interventions to support their wellbeing and personal development.
We are a company of participatory artists and practitioners who are committed to co-creating compelling, dynamic, socially-relevant, and high-quality theatre-based work with children, young people, and communities.
We work with thousands of children and young people every year, mostly in the North East.
We started out as a small youth theatre group, running one-off week-long projects from a village hall. Today we have two office bases (in Ashington and Prudhoe), tour our work nationally, and deliver training to organisations across the country.
In 2018, we were named 'Small Charity of the Year' at the North-East Charity Awards, and in 2021 we won 'Best Arts & Business Partnership' with Vida Creative for our work on Melva Digital. In 2022, we were nominated for 'Uniquely North East' in the North East Charity Awards, and in 2023 we were nominated for a National Diversity Award. Both nominations were for our high-impact work with vulnerable young people, many of whom have intersectional needs.
We are a purpose-driven organisation. Our work must be relevant to and matter in wider society, and make a demonstrable and measurable difference to those we work with.
Positive mental health and wellbeing outcomes are an integral part of our work. We use the ratified PERMA Framework™ as our approach to embedding, monitoring, and evaluating the impact of our work against defined wellbeing outcomes. Therefore we can demonstrate that our work brings about changes in behaviour and outlook, confidence, personal accomplishment, resilience, and positive self-image - and empowers young people for a more positive future.
We are working to create a society where everyone is motivated, engaged, and able to bring their unique abilities to help make the world a little bit better. The problems of the world are essentially the problems of individuals. And through supporting individuals to change, together we may just be able to change the world.
We are a company of participatory artists and practitioners who are committed to co-creating compelling, dynamic, socially-relevant, and high-quality theatre-based work with children, young people, and communities.
We work with thousands of children and young people every year, mostly in the North East.
We started out as a small youth theatre group, running one-off week-long projects from a village hall. Today we have two office bases (in Ashington and Prudhoe), tour our work nationally, and deliver training to organisations across the country.
In 2018, we were named 'Small Charity of the Year' at the North-East Charity Awards, and in 2021 we won 'Best Arts & Business Partnership' with Vida Creative for our work on Melva Digital. In 2022, we were nominated for 'Uniquely North East' in the North East Charity Awards, and in 2023 we were nominated for a National Diversity Award. Both nominations were for our high-impact work with vulnerable young people, many of whom have intersectional needs.
We are a purpose-driven organisation. Our work must be relevant to and matter in wider society, and make a demonstrable and measurable difference to those we work with.
Positive mental health and wellbeing outcomes are an integral part of our work. We use the ratified PERMA Framework™ as our approach to embedding, monitoring, and evaluating the impact of our work against defined wellbeing outcomes. Therefore we can demonstrate that our work brings about changes in behaviour and outlook, confidence, personal accomplishment, resilience, and positive self-image - and empowers young people for a more positive future.
We are working to create a society where everyone is motivated, engaged, and able to bring their unique abilities to help make the world a little bit better. The problems of the world are essentially the problems of individuals. And through supporting individuals to change, together we may just be able to change the world.
A Message from our Artistic Director & CEO, Kiz Crosbie:
“I’ve been with Mortal Fools since its inception, almost 11 years ago, and my excitement, belief, and drive for this fantastic organisation remains unwavering.
We are committed to enabling the delivery of life-enhancing experiences for our thousands of beneficiaries. Young people need more opportunities to use the arts to explore, understand, and express their current experiences, questions, concerns and hopes, and I’m excited for Mortal Fools to do this with them, now and into the future.
April 2023 saw Mortal Fools join Arts Council England’s National Portfolio of regularly funded organisations. This signals a new chapter for us as a growing company, and on a national stage. Mortal Fools has demonstrated considerable resilience and ingenuity throughout a challenging period for the cultural sector, pivoting our work to keep serving audiences with high-quality participatory arts opportunities, whilst learning and growing through the experience. The 3 years of investment from Arts Council is a welcome addition, which, alongside our other funding supporters, will provide us with greater stability in a tumultuous economic climate and enable us to treat our staff team properly so they can continue to provide excellent services for our beneficiaries and audiences.”
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WHY we do what we do...
We work with children and young people - with the aim of contributing to shaping future generations to become a society where everyone is motivated, engaged, and able to bring their unique abilities to help make the world a little bit better...
The creative arts are at the core of everything we do. We use theatre and drama to help people unlock their personal brilliance. Whilst it may not be crucial to survival, creativity is a fundamental human need, and vital for a fulfilling life. The act of creating something makes us feel present, and that we can make a mark on this world – it shouts, ‘I’m here!’ We use the creative arts to support people in their personal and professional development; helping those we work with to bring about changes in behaviour and outlook, to build confidence, experience personal accomplishment, and shape a more positive self-image. We believe that many of the world’s problems arise from disengagement, and that fundamental to engagement and well-being is having a positive self-image, confidence, and a sense of purpose. We are working to create a society where everyone is motivated, engaged, and able to bring their unique abilities to help make the world a little bit better. The problems of the world are essentially the problems of individuals. Through supporting individuals to change, together we may just be able to change the world. 
HOW we do what we do...
We use high-quality drama and the process of making and performing theatre as our tools for change, supporting the next generation by focusing on activities with children and young people.
We’re passionate about the arts and know that they have the potential to change and enrich lives, to share and show our potential as human beings, and to transform society. Our theatre productions explore contemporary concerns and the realities of the world we’re living in right now – inviting positive change. We believe there is huge value in shared, enjoyable, and entertaining experiences, and of group achievement – especially through challenges. The way we work supports achieving excellence in both the process of making theatre and in the end products. Our work with adults and businesses is founded on the same principles and values that we apply when making theatre; creating an environment that is genuinely supportive and accessible, where everyone feels valued as an individual, and is enabled to contribute. 
WHAT we do...
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OUR FUNDERS & PARTNERS: We could not do our work without the ongoing support of our funders and partners. We unreservedly offer our thanks to: Main funders: Arts Council England BBC Children In Need Kavli Trust Garfield Weston Foundation Paul Hamlyn Foundation Sir James Knott Bernicia Foundation Community Foundation #Iwill Northumberland County Council Project/Programme-specific funders: 1989 Willan Charitable Trust Arnold Clarke Community Fund Asda Foundation Ashington Prime Fund Ashington Town Council BBC Children In Need Youth Social Action Fund Co-operative Local Community Fund Culture Bridge North East Curtin Parp Fund Hadrian's Wall 1990 Hays Travel Foundation Healthier Together North East John D Endowment Fund Kerry Grassroots Fund Key Fund Federation Ltd National Lottery Awards for All National Lottery Community National Lottery Heritage Natural England North of Tyne Creative England North East Combined Authority Northern Powergrid Fund Northumberland Children's Trust Northumberland Community Chest Northumberland Education LCEP Northumberland Public Health LCEP Prime & Spriggs Family Funds Ridley Family Charity The Ballinger Charitable Trust The Ironmongers Foundation The Joicey Trust UK Youth Wellesley Community First Fund Youth Focus NE Peer Action Collective Youth Investment Fund Partners & Supporters: Accelerate Ashington Advance Northumberland Beyond Face Burnley Youth Theatre Children North East Company Three Curious Arts Cyber North Gosforth Civic Theatre & Liberdade Community Development Trust High Sheriff of Northumberland Highfield Middle School Laura Rothwell Muckle LLP NENC Child Health & Wellbeing Network Newcastle Gateshead Initiative North East and North Cumbria NHS Northumberland Arts Development Pride Action North Prime Theatre Prudhoe Community Partnership Prudhoe Town Council Riding Mill Parish Halls Trust Ryder Architecture Schools North East Theatre Porto Trinity College London Virgin Money YMCA Northumberland Previous funders and supporters: Bait – Creative People and Places Barbara Priestman Academy, Sunderland Catherine Cookson Charitable Trust CNL Young People’s Fund Collingwood School and Media Arts College Councillor Anne Dale D’Oyly Carte Charitable Trust Essity Gateshead Council GEM J H Burn Charity Trust North East Enterprise Agency Ltd North East Fund for the Arts Northern Stage North of Tyne Combined Authority Northumberland Group Fund Northumbria University Ovingham Middle School Queen's Hall Arts Centre Riding Mill Drama Club RW Mann Trust Prudhoe Community High School SCA Hygiene Ltd St. Joseph’s RC Middle School The Fuse Media Centre The Rothley Trust Tyne & Wear Archives and Museums Ubiquitous Arts Wunderbar |
