Family feuds, deception, murder - and Russians taking things that don’t belong to them. This is not the front page of one of today’s national newspapers but a production of The Firebird by Jigsaw Music Theatre company.

The talented youngsters, aged about eight to 12, told their own version of the Russian folk talewith live music, dance and shadow puppetry.

Brothers Dmitri (Frankie Lavin), Vassily (Theo Lavin) and the younger Ivan (Matthew Marsland) go in search of the elusive firebird, who has been stealing the fruit from their Tsar father’s tree. En route, we meet a horse with a golden mane, the metamorphic grey wolf and the fair Helen, played by Feana Salisbury.

Armed with sticks and simple costumes, the rest of the company perform the role of a Greek chorus, commenting on the action and taking smaller but no less interesting roles.

Jigsaw productions are always ensemble pieces with original scripts and music, often created by the children themselves, so it is difficult to pick out any particular stars.

This youngest branch of the thriving Theatre in the Quarter told their story with bundles of enthusiasm, bright smiles and the clearest voices possible.

This was the first production that TiQ artistic director Matt Baker has handed over to others in its entirety and you could sense his nerves before curtain up. However, he needn’t have worried as director Millie Garrett and musical director Erin Elston, assisted by an able band including former Jigsaw members Duncan Ritchie and Sam Spruce, brought out the very best of each and every one of the cast.

Forthcoming productions from Theatre in the Quarter include a devised piece on Chester’s Civil War history by Quartz Youth Theatre in April, a site specific piece at Cheshire railway stations to commemorate the beginning of the First World War, a tour of Silent Night in the autumn and a Christmas production of Alice in Wonderland.