Since becoming a mother I have been inspired by using theatre as a way of connecting younger children to the arts and teaching as well as entertaining. But many children never get to see plays and for them going to the theatre is an alien experience. Taking theatre in to primary schools and on tour is a way of reaching those children who might never get a chance to go. This why I am creating a piece of theatre called 'Iris and The Land of Lost Words' with brilliant children's theatre director Hal Chambers (Tucked In Productions). We are aiming to engage children with issues around talking about problems or anything that is troubling them instead of bottling things up. As well as make them laugh we want to provide a forum for them to discuss and think about things that really matter.

But we need your help because we are short of our budget due to funding cuts for this type of project by the council. We have a showcase for seventy schoolchildren in a few weeks and have to pay our key creatives - the actors, director, puppeteer/designer and composer enough so they can work live and eat while spending a week with me putting the showcase together. Without this showcase we can not move the play forward to get proper funding from the arts council. So it is make or break!

Generally the only plays for children that get major funding are usually adaptations from famous books or films. Writers and directors trying to get brand new work to children are often ignored as 'too high risk' for return of investment.

We want to find a way of proving that excellent original theatre for children can also be commercially successful and it would be nice if this kind of play was funded and produced by other parents and people who go to the theatre with their own kids or have a desire to go.

This is why we must ask for help, as in order to get the play to the Arts Council funding stage we must develop it with children, which is why we are asking for help to fund our showcase at the Theatre Royal Winchester at the end of January. We have received great support from the local council and the Theatre Royal to produce the development showcase in front of more than sixty Year Three seven year olds from local primary schools. They will then help us with their ideas and comments on what they see. After this we will apply to the Arts Council for funding to produce a primary schools tour - concentrating on areas of urban or rural deprivation.

We can not get there without people like you who are passionate about the arts and theatre or even just passionate about children's education. Help us with any small amount.

All donations and donors are most welcome to attend the showcase on the 19th January with their children and also will go on the list and be fully credited as supporters in all literature for the showcase as well as receiving a free pair of tickets for any future production of the show.

Thank you.