BRAINSTORM
This is a play about us.
It’s about our brains.
And it’s about you.
It’s about our brains.
And it’s about you.
In Spring 2025, Mortal Fools’ Ensemble Young Company toured Brainstorm - an honest, funny, and thought-provoking theatre show diving into the messy mechanics of the teenage brain!
Every day, 86 billion neurons connect, crash, collide, and clash. It’s a cocktail of chaos and constant change.
Our version of Brainstorm was a fast-paced exploration of the imperfectly perfect teenage brain, told by 10 talented young performers going through the highs and lows of the teen experience. Audiences across the North East joined them in discovering their relationships, needs, hopes, dreams, fears, and frustrations, in a whole new light.
Using a script developed by Ned Glasier, Emily Lim, and Company Three, in collaboration with neuroscientists and including brand-new devised content from our Ensemble Young Company cast and creative team, Brainstorm was a must-see for teenagers, young people, and the adults who support and work with them.
Performed by arrangement with Nick Hern Books.
Every day, 86 billion neurons connect, crash, collide, and clash. It’s a cocktail of chaos and constant change.
Our version of Brainstorm was a fast-paced exploration of the imperfectly perfect teenage brain, told by 10 talented young performers going through the highs and lows of the teen experience. Audiences across the North East joined them in discovering their relationships, needs, hopes, dreams, fears, and frustrations, in a whole new light.
Using a script developed by Ned Glasier, Emily Lim, and Company Three, in collaboration with neuroscientists and including brand-new devised content from our Ensemble Young Company cast and creative team, Brainstorm was a must-see for teenagers, young people, and the adults who support and work with them.
Performed by arrangement with Nick Hern Books.
It has been such a pleasure to work with our Ensemble Young Company to produce our version of Brainstorm. In the midst of this mental health crisis, there is a growing need to support tweens and teens to understand what is going on in their ever-changing brains; this is a theatre show that does exactly that. The show explores the fun and challenging things that teenagers encounter.
As the Director, I'm incredibly proud that Brainstorm offers audiences a window into the complex world of being a teenager in 2025, and together we will find answers in the chaos!
– Scott Wilson, Mortal Fools Lead Practitioner & Brainstorm Director
THE BRAINSTORM TOUR
It was delightful bringing our version of Brainstorm to North East venues Newbiggin Sports and Community Hub, Gosforth Civic Theatre, and Arts Centre Washington.
Each evening was filled with bold, energetic scenes, and impactful story telling - all brought to life by the stellar performances of our talented cast!
Each evening was filled with bold, energetic scenes, and impactful story telling - all brought to life by the stellar performances of our talented cast!
Brainstorm by Mortal Fools is a must-watch production; it’s unmissable. It's a creative piece which explores and unravels the teenage brain and begins to decipher why they think and act the way that they do and challenges some of the perceptions from those around them. We're treated to a tour around teenage bedrooms from their perspective and not the 'mess' us parents just tend to see.
- North East Family Fun
My son and I loved the show, not only for the comical value, but also for the honest and heart-warming storytelling of what really goes on inside a teenager’s brain. It actually put my mind at rest, that we are all just doing the best we can and the actors on stage were a testament to the hard work of parents, carers and people who work with young people. Very funny and thoughtfully put together. All the actors were fantastic!
- Culture Northumberland
Everyone involved deserves absolutely heaps of praise - it was an incredibly well done performance. The whole show was really enjoyable and very poignant and inspires people to remember what it's like being a teenager and to be a better adult in teenagers' worlds. The show also gives adult viewers freedom to be kinder to their inner teenager - some of the things we might regret or ways we felt we didn't live up are cast in a new, liberating light.
-Audience Member
MEET THE CAST
Our 24/25 Ensemble Young Company consisted of 10 Northumberland young people from Ashington and Tyne Valley - some returning members (eagle eyes may recognise familiar faces from 'Inevitable?' and 'Flux') and some brand-new members.
The cast worked hard on Brainstorm (through our co-creation devising process) from September 2024 - March 2025. They met weekly, had fortnightly Sunday rehearsals, and took part in school holiday intensives. They did this alongside all the other things busy teenagers have going on in their lives.
Our Ensemble Young Company have worked so hard this year. There’s something really special when you hit on something in a devising process that everyone is really passionate about and we’ve definitely hit that with Brainstorm! I’ve been continually amazed at how open the young people have been, sharing their own thoughts and experiences around how their brains are developing and the ways this affects their relationships with adults – they’ve produced some really brilliant writing and we’ve had a lot of in-depth conversations, all of which had fed in to the script to make this show deeply personal to our cast.
Across the devising process, we’ve been delving into some of the conflicts young people face with adults, the anxieties they struggle with, and the ways our cast’s brains are different to each other’s through the lens of lived experience of neurodiversity, mental health, and growing up in the North East.
– Zoe Lamming, Mortal Fools Lead Practitioner
ABOUT BRAINSTORM
Brainstorm is a unique theatrical investigation into how teenage brains work, and why they're designed by evolution to be the way they are. Created by Ned Glasier and Emily Lim with Company Three, in collaboration with neuroscientists Professor Sarah-Jayne Blakemore and Dr Kate Mills, Brainstorm is designed to be created and performed by a company of teenagers, drawing directly on their personal experiences.
It exists as a blueprint with a devising guide and script template that enables any group to make their own version of the play. You can access the Brainstorm Blueprint via Company Three’s website.
Mortal Fools Ensemble Young Company made one of the first versions of Brainstorm in 2018. It was the first time we took Ensemble out on tour across the North East to paying audiences at professional venues.
Due to the contemporary nature of the Brainstorm show themes, its relevance continues to grow - and in discussion with our 2024/25 cast, we decided to use the blueprint once again, and to create a brand-new version.
If you’re curious about the research and science behind Brainstorm, the following short videos may be helpful:
It exists as a blueprint with a devising guide and script template that enables any group to make their own version of the play. You can access the Brainstorm Blueprint via Company Three’s website.
Mortal Fools Ensemble Young Company made one of the first versions of Brainstorm in 2018. It was the first time we took Ensemble out on tour across the North East to paying audiences at professional venues.
Due to the contemporary nature of the Brainstorm show themes, its relevance continues to grow - and in discussion with our 2024/25 cast, we decided to use the blueprint once again, and to create a brand-new version.
If you’re curious about the research and science behind Brainstorm, the following short videos may be helpful:
ABOUT MORTAL FOOLS ENSEMBLE YOUNG COMPANY
Mortal Fools Ensemble Young Company offers Northumberland young people aged 14 – 19 the opportunity to develop their artistic skills and create high-quality youth-led theatre throughout an exciting year-long programme.
Across 2024/25, they worked on Brainstorm. The Autumn and Spring term was all about devising a new version of the show, ahead of taking it on tour across the North East in March and April 2025. In the Summer term, the group focused on completing Arts Awards, skills development and creating two original film shorts, using the Brainstorm theme. The films, new digital content and a resource pack for youth workers, teachers and parents will be released in Autumn 2025 - so watch this space!
Our Ensemble Young Company make theatre and films through the process of co-creation, where young people and professional artists work together to contribute their ideas, skills, and opinions to create brilliant, original theatre. If you’re interested in learning more about Mortal Fools' co-creation process, check out Sparked, our video series all about it.
Across 2024/25, they worked on Brainstorm. The Autumn and Spring term was all about devising a new version of the show, ahead of taking it on tour across the North East in March and April 2025. In the Summer term, the group focused on completing Arts Awards, skills development and creating two original film shorts, using the Brainstorm theme. The films, new digital content and a resource pack for youth workers, teachers and parents will be released in Autumn 2025 - so watch this space!
Our Ensemble Young Company make theatre and films through the process of co-creation, where young people and professional artists work together to contribute their ideas, skills, and opinions to create brilliant, original theatre. If you’re interested in learning more about Mortal Fools' co-creation process, check out Sparked, our video series all about it.
If you know/are a young person interested in becoming an EYC member and taking part in future project, we recommend registering your interest by dropping us an email at [email protected]
