PRUDHOE HARDWARE STORE
BECOMES POP -UP THEATRE FOR CHRISTMAS 2017
Melva
This
Christmas, a shop unit on Prudhoe High Street will be temporarily transformed
into Front Street Theatre, a fully-equipped studio theatre, and become home to
a family Christmas theatre production, Melva,
from mid-December to January 2018.
McGee’s
Hardware Store, a mainstay of Prudhoe town centre for decades, has moved into other
premises along the street, leaving the old store at 10 Front Street
Following
this transformation, which is estimated to take several weeks, the creative
team for Melva will not only perform
in the new space but rehearse in it too, giving the performers a chance to get
used to the building weeks before it sees its first public visitors.
Mortal Fools
are no strangers to transforming community venues into theatre spaces. This
happens regularly as part of their flourishing youth theatre programme, Tyne
Valley Youth Theatre (TVYT), which runs regular theatre
sessions for children and young people aged 5-19 in Tynedale. This project will
also offer TVYT groups the chance to perform their own original pieces at Front
Street Theatre during the run.
Melva is a boisterous, Roald Dahl inspired
story of one girl’s adventure to find out what she’s really capable of. It’s
particularly aimed at children aged 7-11 and promises to be a very different
type of Christmas show.
Arts Council
England has contributed £15,000 to support the exciting project, which will
allow over 500 children to see brand-new professional theatre in the heart of
the Tyne Valley
As Artistic
Director Kiz Crosbie says, “It’s a privilege to bring Melva to the newly-created venue in Prudhoe this Christmas. The
support from the local community has been fantastic and we hope this production
will create excitement and a new audience for slightly alternative Christmas
shows in the North East for future years.”
Melva, the first Christmas production for
Mortal Fools, also marks a strong commitment from the company to developing new
and emerging theatre artists. For writer Danielle Burn (27), this will be her
first full professional play which she has been supported to write by the
Mortal Fools team.
“Mortal
Fools don’t just talk the talk when it comes to supporting emerging artists,
they prove they genuinely care, encourage and support. It took under a second
for Kiz to reply to an email of mine about an idea for a play, something along
the lines of 'we would love to produce it’. It became real and from that moment
my first attempt at a children’s play was taken seriously.”
Melva director, Anna Ryder (24), has
worked with Mortal Fools on theatre projects and activities for adults and this
will be her first family theatre production. She’s increasingly grateful for
the opportunities provided by the company.
'Mortal
Fools have been a wonderful support since I joined the company earlier this
year. They have allowed me the time and freedom to develop as a director and
artist. You can come with an idea, big or small, and the team will be working
hard to make it happen, no boundaries, no problems. Their get-go attitude is
inspiring'.
Mortal Fools
is a theatre company (and registered charity) who use dynamic theatre and drama
to support people of all ages to build more fulfilling and positive lives. They
are based in Prudhoe, Northumberland and work region-wide in schools, youth
theatre and professional theatre settings.
On The Web:
Tickets:
Melva runs from 16
December 2017
to 6 January 2018 . Tickets are now available from http://www.mortalfools.org.uk/melva,
or for a discounted rate for Prudhoe Residents from Prudhoe Library.
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