An uplifting show about love and loss for young children

The play, which combines beautiful music, visually stunning puppetry and shadow play, is a collaboration between Hexham-based award-winning theatre company Théâtre Sans Frontières and Canadian company Théâtre À l’Envers and has been specifically written for children between the ages of 5 and 10.

Woânda is a frog who lives in the bathroom pipes. One day she suddenly pops up and meets Laura, the young girl who lives in the house. Laura has dropped her mother's ring down the plughole and asks Woânda to help her find it. Their search takes them on a whirlwind of twists and turns that combine dreams with reality and laughter with tears.

"A Frog Called Woânda is wondrous. With the skilful use of performance, puppetry, shadow and live music, the company created a world where small people were invited to ask big questions about the world around them," says Gibby Raine, an audience member who recently watched the play.

TSF Joint Artistic Director Sarah Kemp said: “We’re looking forward to taking this imaginative production to audiences young and old around the country. The show has a wonderful soundtrack, great acting, evocative shadows and, of course, the star of it all, the fabulous puppet Woânda herself!”

Tickets cost £6.50 or £25 for a family ticket (up to five people) and are available from www.hartlepooltownhalltheatre.com or the Box Office in Hartlepool Art Gallery in Church Square. Telephone bookings can be made by calling 01429 890000. The Box Office opening hours are Tuesday to Friday 10am–4.30pm and Saturday 10am-4pm.