SureStart County Durham has enlisted the theatre company Purple Monster to promote careers in the service.

It has condensed a 12-hour course named Making Changes into a 40 minute performance, which gives people a taste of what a job in childcare includes.

"Purple Monster made a very successful debut in the county in the summer and we just had to ask them back,'' said Rose Envy, SureStart's training and workforce development officer.

"They dramatise it in such a way that you actually think you are in a childcare setting. It can really help you understand what these roles involve,'' she said.

She added: "By the end of the performance , you can decide whether childcare is the right career choice for you and if it is, which branch of childcare is most suitable."

Making Choices has been presenting performances all week and will give its final show today, at Fyndoune Community College, in Sacriston, at 1pm.