A MULTI-MEDIA theatre production, Base Jump, will premier at Newcastle Playhouse on June 13-14 with a cast drawn from 12 young people excluded from County Durham schools.

A nine-strong team of professionals linked to North Durham's Cap-a-Pie Theatre Company has been working for the past five months with the youngsters and its own GNVQ students. Together, the group has become the Residuum Theatre Company to present a story covering a single day.

Written by Ian Dowson, the play will show a snapshot of the lives of young people where the risk of violence is inherent, children act like adults and adults act like children.

The playwright said: "Exclusion is an area of deep concern to me personally, and being the writer-in-residence was a great opportunity for me to really get involved with the reality of many issues.

"I developed the story from the lives of these young people, some of whom are as young as 13 and older ones of 19."

Tickets, priced £3 and £5, are available from the Newcastle Playhouse, which can be contacted on 0191-230 5151.