Cilla Fisher and Artie Trezise, the creators of children’s theatre group The Singing Kettle, have announced that they are to stop performing with the act from next year.

The forthcoming Christmas tour will be their last, with a final stage appearance at Edinburgh’s Festival Theatre on February 17, 2013.

According to a statement on the group’s website: “Cilla and Artie plan to continue their involvement with The Singing Kettle and will take on backstage creative roles. Cilla will continue to write songs for future productions while Artie will produce the stage shows as well as direct the DVDs and CDs.”

The company base their show around clues for songs discovered inside brightly coloured kettles. The couple originally worked as a folk duo, before releasing the first Singing Kettle album of songs for children in 1982.

Gary Coupland joined the duo in 1985 and will continue in the group with Kevin Macleod, who was originally a stage manager before taking over from Cilla and Archie’s daughter, Jane Fisher, in 2001.

The company has begun the process of recruiting a new female cast member. A new show, Rumble In The Jungle, is due to open in March.