A VISUALLY stunning exploration of loss and the power of imagination is coming to a stage near you.

I Am Beat will be performed at Dorchester Corn Exchange on Wednesday May 24.

Sparkle and Dark Theatre company uses large-scale puppetry, UV lighting design and a live electronic soundscape to create a thrilling theatrical experience.

The play has particular resonance in this Mental Health Awareness Week, touching on themes of grief and adolescent mental health through innovative theatrical stylings.

What happens when the wildest parts of our imagination take control? After the death of her mother, Ellie escapes into her own fantasy world of comic book superheroes and bewitching strangers, recreating herself as the ultimate vigilante.

Running a-midst dark alley ways and sinister villains, she soon meets the wild and mysterious Beast and together they seek revenge. But as the walls of her new world begin to crumble, Ellie must finally face the truth behind her fantasies.

Developed with teenagers, therapists, psychiatrists and neurologists with support from the Wellcome Trust and Arts Council England, the theatre company have explored how the edges of clinical diagnoses can blur with the idea of an active, childhood imagination where alternative worlds are often created as coping mechanisms.

*I Am Beast, Dorchester Corn Exchange, Wednesday, May 24, 8pm. Doors and bar open from 7.30pm. Call Dorchester Arts or Dorchester TIC for tickets. This play will also be performed at Bridport Arts Centre on Saturday, May 20 at 8pm. Call the arts centre box office for tickets.