Mortal Fools
Mortal Fools is a Northumberland-based UK charity that uses theatre and creative learning to support children, young people, schools, and businesses, operating free youth theatre groups, the award-winning MELVA digital mental health programme for primary schools, and the CONNECT corporate training programme, funded primarily through Arts Council England, North East Combined Authority, and charitable trusts.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2012
- HeadquartersAshington, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What Mortal Fools does
Mortal Fools is a registered UK charity and company limited by guarantee (Charity number: 1153400), founded in 2012 and headquartered in Ashington, Northumberland. The organisation operates as a theatre, drama, and creative learning company that uses co-creation with children and young people as its core methodology, with the stated mission of supporting better-quality interpersonal relationships. It serves three primary customer groups: (i) children and young people in the North East of England through free, weekly youth-led theatre groups (MFYT Weekly Groups, Stage One, Ensemble Young Company, Creative Sparks), (ii) primary schools through the MELVA Digital mental health and wellbeing programme for Key Stage 2 pupils aged 7-11, and (iii) businesses and organisations through the CONNECT commercial training programme covering leadership, communication, presentation, team dynamics, and emotional resilience.
The product portfolio is anchored by MELVA Digital, a multi-award-winning platform combining interactive storytelling, films, animation, literature, games, and classroom exercises, mapped against the PERMA Framework and NHS 5 Steps to Wellbeing. The platform is delivered as funded or paid annual licences to primary schools and supplemented by the published novel 'Melva Mapletree and the Great Undoing'. CONNECT training is delivered via full-day, half-day, two-hour workshops, consultancy, and 1-to-1 coaching, both digitally and in-person. Live output includes touring theatre productions (WIRED, Brainstorm), audio theatre distributed via Spotify/Podbean/Apple Podcasts, and creative film projects.
The business model is predominantly grant-funded: Mortal Fools joined Arts Council England's National Portfolio in April 2023, supplemented by Kavli Trust (a second-round £215k award in September 2025), North East Combined Authority (six-figure funding 2024/25), Northumberland County Council, BBC Children in Need, Paul Hamlyn Foundation, Community Foundation, and Postcode Community Trust. Commercial revenue from CONNECT training and book sales is explicitly used to subsidise free youth delivery. End-user reach includes over 16,000 children across 130-150 schools, approximately 100 weekly youth theatre members, 1,000+ audio theatre listeners, and named corporate clients including Virgin Money, Newcastle University, and Ryder Architecture.
Mortal Fools firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Mortal Fools
- Legal name
- Mortal Fools
- Website
- https://mortalfools.org.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2012
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Mortal Fools is a Northumberland-based UK charity that uses theatre and creative learning to support children, young people, schools, and businesses, operating free youth theatre groups, the award-winning MELVA digital mental health programme for primary schools, and the CONNECT corporate training programme, funded primarily through Arts Council England, North East Combined Authority, and charitable trusts.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Mortal Fools industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Youth Arts & Creative Education
- NAICS
- Fine Arts Schools (611610), Independent Artists, Writers, and Performers (711510)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Digital Arts & Design (Graphic Design, Illustration, Animation) (EDAMAAAB)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Children’s & Youth Educational Entertainment (Edutainment) (EDAGALAK), Digital Literacy & Media Literacy (Reading/Writing Online) (EDAMAJAN), Educational Games & Kids/Families Game Studios (MPAFAAAI), Children’s Digital & Interactive Publishing (E-books, Apps, Enhanced Content) (MPAJAFAJ)
Keywords
Where Mortal Fools is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Ashington
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Mortal Fools business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Charitable Grants and Funding: Mortal Fools operates as a registered charity and company limited by guarantee. The majority of revenue comes from grants and funding from Arts Council England (National Portfolio member since April 2023), North East Combined Authority, Kavli Trust, Northumberland County Council, Community Foundation, Postcode Community Trust, BBC Children in Need, Paul Hamlyn Foundation, and numerous other charitable trusts and public bodies. Funding supports specific projects, programme delivery, and organisational capacity.
- CONNECT Training Programme: Mortal Fools sells professional and personal development training to businesses, teams, and individuals through their CONNECT programme. Training covers leadership practice, engaging communication, presentation skills, team dynamics, digital facilitation, and emotional resilience. Delivered as full-day, half-day, 2-hour workshops, consultancy, and 1-to-1 coaching formats, both digitally and in person. Revenue from CONNECT subsidises youth theatre and young people's programmes.
- Book Sales: Mortal Fools earns revenue from the sale of the illustrated children's novel 'Melva Mapletree and the Great Undoing', priced at £9.99 on Amazon. This is a one-time purchase revenue stream.
- School Programme Licences: MELVA programme is available to primary schools, with funded licences available for some schools and standard licences for others. Revenue from non-funded school licences contributes to programme sustainability.
- Donations: As a registered charity, Mortal Fools accepts donations to support its work with children and young people. Donations are welcomed particularly in relation to free resources such as the 'When The World Is Loud' audio theatre experience.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Free youth theatre groups and MELVA school programme |
| Subscription | Annual | MELVA school licences |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | CONNECT training for businesses and organisations |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Melva Mapletree and the Great Undoing book |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels10 records
Mortal Fools product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Mortal Fools is a multi-award-winning theatre, drama, and creative learning charity that co-creates theatre, film, and digital projects with children, young people, and communities. It delivers free weekly youth theatre groups (MFYT), the MELVA digital mental health programme to primary schools, and CONNECT professional development training sold commercially to businesses and organisations.
Product overview
Mortal Fools is a multi-award winning theatre, drama, and creative learning charity offering a portfolio of products and programmes. The core offerings include MELVA Digital, a comprehensive mental health programme for primary schools featuring interactive storytelling, films, animation, literature, games and classroom exercises; and CONNECT Business Training, a professional development programme for organisations. MELVA Digital is complemented by the illustrated novel Melva Mapletree and the Great Undoing. The organisation also delivers youth theatre groups (MFYT), live theatre productions (WIRED, Brainstorm), audio theatre experiences (When The World Is Loud), film projects (Let Us Tell You), and employability programmes (CONNECT: Future Ready, Young CONNECT). The portfolio is structured around using theatre and creative arts as a methodology for supporting interpersonal relationships and positive social change.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- MELVA: Multi award-winning digital programme using interactive storytelling and creative activities to improve children's mental health and wellbeing for primary school children aged 7-11.
- MFYT
- CONNECT
Products and services
- MELVA Digital Mental Health Programme A multi-award-winning digital programme that improves Key Stage 2 (ages 7-11) children's mental health knowledge and practical self-management techniques through interactive storytelling, films, animation, literature, games, and classroom exercises. Designed for primary schools and delivered via funded and paid licences.
- Melva Mapletree and the Great Undoing An illustrated children's novel following an almost 12-year-old navigating the challenges, uncertainty and hilarity of adolescence, covering puberty, big emotions, grief, loss, anxiety, and self-harming behaviours. Sold via Amazon and bundled with the MELVA programme.
- CONNECT Business Training A training and professional development programme for organisations, teams, and individuals, covering leadership practice, engaging communication, formal presentation skills, team dynamics, digital facilitation, and emotional resilience. Delivered digitally and in person through full day, half day, 2-hour workshops, consultancy, and 1-to-1 coaching formats.
- MFYT Youth Theatre Groups Weekly youth-led theatre groups (including MFYT Weekly Groups, Stage One Youth Theatre, Ensemble Young Company, and Creative Sparks) for children and young people. Free, inclusive sessions building confidence and skills through theatre, film and audio, working towards performances.
- CONNECT: Future Ready An employability intervention targeting socially isolated young people aged 16-25, using creative and person-centric approaches to skills development. Intensive interventions with Bronze Arts Award outcomes.
- Young CONNECT A version of the CONNECT training programme adapted specifically for young people, supporting their professional development journey.
- WIRED Theatre Production A theatre production exploring what it means to grow up in a digital world, examining how social media, AI, and being constantly online shape identity and emotions. Co-created with young performers, touring the North East.
- Brainstorm Theatre Production
Quantifiable outcome
- Children's understanding of mental health increased by average 94% after participating in MELVA programme (3,077 children, 850 sessions, 2023/2024)
- +7 more outcomes
Companies that use Mortal Fools
Customer profileNamed customers12 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Mortal Fools technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature5 records
Mortal Fools partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
14 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- North East Combined AuthoritycoreBeyond funding, North East Combined Authority is a strategic partner in the North East regional creative health ecosystem. Cllr Tracey Dixon (Portfolio Holder for Education, Inclusion and Skills) publicly endorsed the MELVA programme, and the Authority's Education Improvement Programme is directly commissioning and embedding the programme across regional schools.
- Vida CreativecoreMortal Fools won the 'Best Arts & Business Partnership' award with Vida Creative in 2021 for their collaborative work on Melva Digital programme. Vida Creative was a key creative partner in developing the award-winning MELVA platform.
- Hirst Welfare CentrecoreHirst Welfare Centre is Mortal Fools' key community partner for the Hirst Festival, produced in partnership with support from Ashington Family Hub and Full Circle Food Project. The festival was part of Northumberland County Council's Animating Ashington Autumn/Winter Festival programme.
- Live Theatre, NewcastlecoreLive Theatre served as the launch venue for 'Melva Mapletree and the Great Undoing' during Children's Mental Health Week. Live Theatre's Live Tales programme collaborated with Mortal Fools on free family creative workshops across February half term. Jack McNamara (Artistic Director/Joint CEO of Live Theatre) praised the collaboration.
- Kalmer CounsellingcoreVictoria Beattie of Kalmer Counselling provided expert advisory input as a children's mental health specialist during the development of 'Melva Mapletree and the Great Undoing' and the wider MELVA programme content, ensuring sensitive and clinically informed representation of mental health themes.
- Accelerate AshingtonminorStrategic partner organisation listed among Mortal Fools' ecosystem of supporters.
- Youth Theatre Together consortiumcoreMortal Fools is one of six Arts Council National Portfolio youth theatres (alongside 20 Stories High, Burnley Youth Theatre, Company Three, Theatre Factory, and Prime Theatre) collaborating on the Youth Theatre Together initiative. This group organised the 2024 Youth Theatre Census and is establishing a new national development agency for youth theatre in England.
- NHS North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care BoardminorHealth sector partner listed as supporting Mortal Fools' work, particularly relevant given the focus on children's mental health through the MELVA programme.
- Arts Centre WashingtonminorRegional arts venue in Washington, Tyne and Wear, that hosts Mortal Fools' theatre productions including WIRED and Brainstorm. One of several regional theatre venues presenting Mortal Fools' work.
- Gosforth Civic TheatreminorRegional arts venue hosting Mortal Fools' theatre productions including WIRED and Brainstorm. A key venue in the North East theatre circuit for the company's work.
- Liberdade Community Development TrustminorRob Huggins, Chief Executive of Liberdade Community Development Trust, provided a testimonial praising Mortal Fools: 'It is rare to find an organisation with this quality, community focus, and ambition.' Liberdade is listed as a partner organisation.
- Ashington Children's NetworkminorLocal network of children's organisations in Ashington that Mortal Fools collaborates with as part of its community ecosystem.
- Danielle Slade (Danielle Burn)coreChildren's writer and theatre-maker who co-authored 'Melva Mapletree and the Great Undoing' with Kiz Crosbie. Originally conceived the Melva character in 2017; Mortal Fools produced her first Melva Mapletree play for Christmas that same year. A core creative collaborator on the MELVA programme.
- Lily Mae KroesecoreIllustrator who created the artwork for 'Melva Mapletree and the Great Undoing', bringing the characters and their emotional experiences to life through poignant illustrations. Also provided illustration for other MELVA programme materials.
Scale indicators16 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Mortal Fools competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Place2Be: UK's largest children's mental health charity providing counselling and wellbeing support in primary and secondary schools. Comparable as a school-based children's mental health provider, though at much larger scale and with in-school counsellor model rather than digital curriculum.
- YoungMinds: Leading UK charity for children and young people's mental health, providing resources, training, and campaigning. Comparable in mission (children's mental health) and audience (schools and young people), though operates as a national advocacy/training organisation rather than a delivery charity.
- Anna Freud Centre: National children's mental health charity delivering evidence-based mental health training, resources, and interventions in schools. Directly comparable in evidence-based PSHE/wellbeing training for schools, at significantly larger scale and with deeper clinical research base.
Direct peers
- Company Three: London-based youth theatre company and fellow Youth Theatre Together consortium member alongside Mortal Fools. Directly comparable as a free, inclusive, co-creative youth theatre producing original work with young people and is one of the six Arts Council NPO youth theatres in the consortium.
- Theatre Factory: Youth theatre within the Youth Theatre Together consortium. Comparable as a youth-led, Arts Council-supported theatre company producing original co-created work with young people in the North of England.
- 20 Stories High: Liverpool-based youth theatre and fellow Youth Theatre Together consortium member. Comparable as a free youth-led theatre company producing new work with young people, also funded through Arts Council England's National Portfolio.
- Burnley Youth Theatre: Lancashire-based youth theatre and Youth Theatre Together consortium member. Closely comparable model — co-creative theatre with young people, Arts Council NPO status, and active in school and community engagement.
- Prime Theatre: Swindon-based youth theatre and Youth Theatre Together consortium member. Directly comparable as a co-creative youth theatre company producing new work with young people, with school and community programmes.
- Apples and Snakes: England's leading organisation for spoken word poetry and creative learning for young people. Comparable as an Arts Council NPO using a creative art form (poetry/theatre) as a methodology for youth development, with extensive school and community programmes.
Regional players
- Live Theatre, Newcastle: Newcastle-based producing theatre and Mortal Fools' launch partner for 'Melva Mapletree and the Great Undoing'. Comparable as a North East producing theatre with strong youth, education, and new-writing programmes targeting similar beneficiaries and schools.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Mortal Fools social profiles
Digital presenceMortal Fools financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Mortal Fools leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles7 records
Mortal Fools funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Mortal Fools M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Mortal Fools
What does Mortal Fools do?
Mortal Fools is a multi-award-winning theatre, drama, and creative learning charity that co-creates theatre, film, and digital projects with children, young people, and communities. It delivers free weekly youth theatre groups (MFYT), the MELVA digital mental health programme to primary schools, and CONNECT professional development training sold commercially to businesses and organisations.
Is Mortal Fools a public or private company?
Mortal Fools is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Mortal Fools founded?
Mortal Fools was founded in 2012. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Mortal Fools based?
Mortal Fools is headquartered in Ashington, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Mortal Fools make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Charitable Grants and Funding is the primary driver. The others are CONNECT Training Programme, book Sales, school Programme Licences and donations.
Who are Mortal Fools's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Place2Be, YoungMinds and Anna Freud Centre. Direct peers are Company Three, Theatre Factory, 20 Stories High, Burnley Youth Theatre, Prime Theatre and Apples and Snakes. Live Theatre, Newcastle is listed as a regional player.
Does Mortal Fools have an API?
No public API is recorded for Mortal Fools.
What industry is Mortal Fools in?
Mortal Fools's product category is Youth Arts & Creative Education. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAMAAAB, Digital Arts & Design (Graphic Design, Illustration, Animation), with a secondary code of EDAGALAK, Children’s & Youth Educational Entertainment (Edutainment). Its NAICS code is 611610.