Organisers of Northern Stage’s 40th anniversary celebrations hope they have just the ticket for tots, says Viv Hardwick.

LIFE really does begin at 40 for Newcastle’s Northern Stage theatre where a year of birthday celebrations includes recruiting 40 expectant mums who are giving birth between next month and April.

The project, called First Steps and managed by associate director Mark Calvert, aims to encourage more people with pre-school children to visit the theatre.

One of the offers to the mums-tobe will be exclusive ticket offers for new plays such as the Peter Brookdirected 11 and 12 and Northern Stage’s own version of Oh! What A Lovely War.

Calvert – inspired by the birth of his daughter, Francesca, 18 months ago – is optimistic about Northern Stage’s ambitious decision to ask the parents of 40 newborns to take part in a three-year “living book” study on their theatre adventure.

“This is a perfect opportunity for new mothers to work with professional photographers to capture all the excitement and emotion of their babies’ first year and share it with others in the same position,” says Calvert.

The former actor enjoyed moving to the role of director with Northern Stage’s sell-out Christmas shows for the under-sixes, but admits that creating entertainment for tots is the biggest challenge he’s faced in theatre so far.

The big test was his own daughter attending for the first time. “It was probably the most nervous moment as a director having your own daughter on your knee in the audience. But she watched it all and really enjoyed it. That’s why Northern Stage feels it’s so important to focus on producing work for children at such at early age,” says Calvert.

He hopes as many mums-to-be as possible will register with Northern Stage to give a wide cross-section of candidates for First Steps.

“We are sure that as the babies are born we will gain lots of new experiences which will help us tell an exciting story about children between birth and three in the North-East,” he says.

Although the official anniversary of Northern Stage will be celebrated officially on November 8, there is a string of magic moments to come, including a First Steps summer fete on July 17, where the babies and parents will be invited to indulge in jelly and ice cream.

The hottest ticket is for 84-yearold director Peter Brook’s return to the Newcastle with 11 and 12, which explores an extraordinary conflict in West Africa that grew from a dispute over reciting a prayer 11 or 12 times.

■ To put your name forward for the First Steps project, email your name, address and due date to first.steps@northern stage.co.uk, go to northern stage.co.uk and click on the participate icon, or write to: First Steps, Northern Stage, Barras Bridge, Newcastle, NE1 7RH. Northern Stage Box Office: 0191-230-5151.