The Lonely has not been seen for a long time. His house stands quiet, on the edge of town. He won’t come out, but one girl stands at his door and won’t go away.

So begins a tale of loss, loneliness and love by Finegan Kruckemeyer, a Tasmanian writer with the neat symmetry of 27 plays to his name by the age of 27.

Kruckemeyer’s play is being performed in a collaboration between children’s theatre company Tutti Frutti and York Theatre Royal.

This exploration of friendship and feelings uses a vibrant blend of drama, live music written by Ivan Stott and dance choreographed by Joanna Moven.

Director Wendy Harris has picked a cast of Jason James, from Leeds, and Megan Brook, from Ramsbot-tom (an apt name, given the profusion of wool in the play).

Working together for the first time and making their York debut, they both have plenty of experience of performing in children’s theatre, especially in theatre in education.

“I’ve toured nationally and internationally,” says Jason, who has ten years’ experience as a professional actor and singer.

“I’ve toured Shakespeare in Germany and Japan, and in Iceland I did a piece for young people about the dangers of drug addiction, funded by a group of Icelandic businessmen.”

“I did a play in China for the International Children’s Theatre Festival in Shanghai,” says Megan, who says one philosophy links performances for young audiences at home and abroad.

“Some companies may fall into the trap of underestimating the intelligence of the audience, even when they’re aged three to seven, but you have to engage with them and that’s how you get a good interaction.”

Jason agrees. “There’s a real purity to working with young audiences because they’re not bound by etiquette or the culture of theatre-going, so there’s a big responsibility for actors to really reach the mark with them, as they’re a raw audience and really respond in a truthful way.”

Analysing a play that features such doorstep gifts for The Lonely as a photo of the wind, a feeling of Ferris wheels and some lightning in a jar, Megan says: “I would say it’s like Amelie [the Audrey Tautou film] for children; it’s rich in its imagery and its descriptions of people and their emotions.”

As if to prove the point, Alison Heffernan’s set is hand knitted. “Kruckemeyer sets his play in an imaginary world, a fantasy land, where we don’t know if the characters have invented it or if some of it is real, but because those boundaries are blurred, it’s very tactile.”

• If Only The Lonely Were Home, Tutti Frutti/York Thetare Royal, in The Studio, York Theatre Royal, today until April 25. Suitable for four to seven year olds and their families. Tickets: £6 adults, £4 children, on 01904 623568.