The Rudes Van appeal

The Rude Mechanical Theatre Co - We have been performing brand-new plays all around Southern England since 1999 and have given literally tens of thousands of people a lot of joy.

The Rudes' van - In 2007 we bought a van to pull our beautiful mobile stage - the pageant wagon - and to take us and our equipment to hundreds of venues in small rural villages and towns from Kent to Devon. It has now done nearly 200,000 miles and this summer broke down over and over again. The truth is it has now come to the end of its working life. We have to get another one if we are to continue with our work. We tour. That's what we do.

What will it cost? A decent second-hand van will cost typically £25,000 and we do not have that amount of money. Because we do new work - Generally people like to see plays they have heard of before - it is impossible for us to be commercial. We will always need to meet 15% - 20% of our costs from grants and donations just to run the tours with nothing left for emergencies like this.

We have many more stories to tell you! - We have managed to keep going for most of the last 25 years, with only one crisis when we were struggling, about five years ago. At that time our wonderful supporters stepped in and have kept us going, and only this van problem has stopped us in our tracks. But we have many more stories to tell you and give you joy! If you love our work and want us to keep going, therefore, we need to ask you to step in again and donate. We don't like to ask but it is that or the end of The Rudes.

Please, therefore, would you donate now.