Our company is made up of young members, participatory artists and practitioners, community partners, and a dedicated wider staff team. We are committed to co-creating compelling, socially relevant, and high-quality theatre-based work together. We constantly develop inclusive ways of working together to support different needs and lived experiences, prioritising young people and communities who face barriers to arts and culture.
We collaborate with approximately 100 young members every week in youth-led, deep level engagements in Northumberland. Young people are at the heart of our organisation, and lead and develop our programmes via our established co-creation practice and our structured monitoring and evaluation toolkit. We also work with and learn from thousands of other children and young people every year via outreach and engagement with our digital assets, mostly in the North East.
We develop our practice and impact through multi-sector partnerships (Youth, Community, Health, and Arts & Culture); jointly co-constructing work to meet the contemporary needs of children and young people. Our wide range of partnerships enables us to contribute to cross-sector policy and practice locally, regionally, and nationally.
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.
We recognise that the presence of positive, secure interpersonal relationships is a key factor in personal wellbeing, motivation, civil engagement, and life fulfilment. We use drama and theatre-based approaches – interpersonal by nature – to support people to build the skills and knowledge to form and maintain better relationships. This work is positive action against the shift towards the divided, competitive, and aggressive societal changes seen in the UK and wider world in recent years.
Through all of our work, we advocate for, demonstrate, and give people ways to form better relationships and learn how positive connection and shared positive experiences can combat the things that drive us apart. Positive mental health and wellbeing outcomes are an integral part of our work. We use the ratified PERMA Framework™ to embed, monitor, and evaluate the impact of our work against defined wellbeing outcomes. We can demonstrate that our work brings about changes in behaviour, outlook, confidence, personal accomplishment, resilience, and positive self-image, towards a more positive future.
We collaborate with approximately 100 young members every week in youth-led, deep level engagements in Northumberland. Young people are at the heart of our organisation, and lead and develop our programmes via our established co-creation practice and our structured monitoring and evaluation toolkit. We also work with and learn from thousands of other children and young people every year via outreach and engagement with our digital assets, mostly in the North East.
We develop our practice and impact through multi-sector partnerships (Youth, Community, Health, and Arts & Culture); jointly co-constructing work to meet the contemporary needs of children and young people. Our wide range of partnerships enables us to contribute to cross-sector policy and practice locally, regionally, and nationally.
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.
We recognise that the presence of positive, secure interpersonal relationships is a key factor in personal wellbeing, motivation, civil engagement, and life fulfilment. We use drama and theatre-based approaches – interpersonal by nature – to support people to build the skills and knowledge to form and maintain better relationships. This work is positive action against the shift towards the divided, competitive, and aggressive societal changes seen in the UK and wider world in recent years.
Through all of our work, we advocate for, demonstrate, and give people ways to form better relationships and learn how positive connection and shared positive experiences can combat the things that drive us apart. Positive mental health and wellbeing outcomes are an integral part of our work. We use the ratified PERMA Framework™ to embed, monitor, and evaluate the impact of our work against defined wellbeing outcomes. We can demonstrate that our work brings about changes in behaviour, outlook, confidence, personal accomplishment, resilience, and positive self-image, towards a more positive future.
Case Studies
Connor Robson, 18 (any pronouns)
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Ilana White, 17 (she/her)
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Mark Gate, 18 (he/him)
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Jessica Whittle, 21 (she/her)
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Elinor Bryant, 26 (she/her)
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Scott Wilson, 26 (he/him)
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Another year of conscious & thoughtful growth! Across the last year, we’ve supported more young people than ever before and co-created some brilliant work.
An overview of our work and how it intersects, alongside a flavour of the next 18 months.
An overview of our work and what’s on offer for youth workers, education professionals,
community groups, creative practitioners, parents, home educating families, and
anyone connected to children and young people.
community groups, creative practitioners, parents, home educating families, and
anyone connected to children and young people.
An overview of Melva Digital - our fun, high-impact digital creative intervention,
supporting the wellbeing of children aged 7-11 years.
supporting the wellbeing of children aged 7-11 years.
An overview of our CONNECT training programme for organisations,
teams, and individuals.
teams, and individuals.
The Importance of Feedback and Testimonials
We rely on feedback from all of our stakeholders to help us improve our work, and to help our case when we're applying for funding from Trusts, Foundations, and Corporate Charity Teams. The right quote from the right person might just be the difference between a 'yes' or a 'no'.
If you've seen a show, attended an event, participated in a project, used Melva, or taken part in a Mortal Fools session, we'd love to hear what you thought. You can:
Tweet us
Leave us a review on Facebook
Send us an email
We rely on feedback from all of our stakeholders to help us improve our work, and to help our case when we're applying for funding from Trusts, Foundations, and Corporate Charity Teams. The right quote from the right person might just be the difference between a 'yes' or a 'no'.
If you've seen a show, attended an event, participated in a project, used Melva, or taken part in a Mortal Fools session, we'd love to hear what you thought. You can:
Tweet us
Leave us a review on Facebook
Send us an email
Scroll down to find out what people have to say about the different areas of our work - from participants to audience members.
"I remember coming home after the very first session
and just standing in my kitchen and saying
'Mum, this is the best thing I've ever done.'"
- BEN GRAINGER, Youth Theatre Member since 2012
"The staff have learned not to make assumptions about what people are capable of. They've had their eyes opened to what the students can do, and seen that some of these kids have been able to do things that no one imagined of them.”