THEATRE Hullabaloo – the £1.5m children’s theatre attached to Darlington Hippodrome – will open in December with its own production, Bear and Butterfly.

The show, which runs from December 11 to 31, will be presented alongside a newly commissioned installation called Enchanted Forest, where children can play amid musical flowers and magical trees designed to stimulate their imaginations.

The opening follows an 18-month period in which the former Edwardian firestation and adjacent land in Borough Road have been transformed into a purpose-built venue.

Theatre Hullabaloo is the only specialist theatre of its type outside London to cater to younger audiences.

“We can’t wait to open the doors to children and their families," said Laura Case, development director. "This venue is all about creating and presenting the best work in the best environment for children."

The 50-minute show has a cast of three, plus puppetry and live music. It opens on Monday, December 11, for 21 performances until the end of the year and will then tour nationally aimed at establishing Darlington as a theatre town exporting arts to the rest of the country.

Miranda Thain, creative producer, said: “It is incredibly exciting to be opening a national centre of theatre for young audiences in Darlington. We hope The Hullabaloo will be taken to the hearts of families across our region."

First staged in 2015, Bear and Butterfly is for children aged four and over.

It is a charming lesson in natural history about the fraught and sometimes funny friendship between a bear awaking out of hibernation and a caterpillar that ultimately becomes a butterfly.

The original cast will return – Micky Cochrane, from Newcastle, as Bear; Robert Welling as Butterfly and Simon McCorry, a Durham University graduate, as Owl, who also composed the music.

Tickets cost from £7 and available by calling the box office on 01325 405405 or online at theatrehullaballoo.org.uk.