It's been another huge year for Actors for Human Rights - with over 80 events, around 8,000 audience members reached, over 150 new actors joining the network and two more scripts launched (bringing us up to nine in total for the repertoire) and bringing our work to staff at the UK Border Agency. Read Christine and Clea's blog about what's been happening this year. Huge thanks to all of the wonderful actors, brilliant host organisations and fabulous funders who have worked with us to make it all possible.

We are gearing up for our world premiere of On the Record at the Arcola Theatre in July/August 2011. Christine and Noah will be working intensively on the script with the director Michael Longhurst over the next few months and we'll report back to you with our progress.

(Photograph of one of the real-life characters in the play, Lydia Cacho)

We're also in the research phase of a new site-responsive piece examining the phenomenon of 'pauper's funerals' - or ‘Eleanor Rigby funerals’. There has been a sharp rise in the number of people across the UK who are dying with no friends or family to arrange, attend or pay for their funeral. In addition, we are planning to launch a script containing the perspectives of several individuals who have been affected by the war in Afghanistan, to be launched in October 2012, the tenth anniversary of the invasion.

Over four weeks in October and November, we presented rehearsed readings of some of the best submissions to our Everyone Has the Right scheme at Amnesty International's Human Rights Action Centre. Hundreds of people attended and the script submissions continue to arrive from all around the world. One of the plays featured in the programme, The Archbishop and the Antichrist, by Michael Ashton, will have a one-week run at the Soho Theatre in May 2011, produced by Synergy Theatre. Huge thanks to the Amnesty crew, especially Alison, Sarah, Gianmaria and Amy.

We want to say a huge thank-you for all your support and attendance this year. From the launch of Getting On and On a Clear Day to our Everyone Has the Right readings at Amnesty, you've made a real difference to the work we do.

iceandfire is sustained by the generosity of your donations and particularly as public subsidy and grants tighten their belts, we're more thankful (and more desperate!) than ever for your kind support. For example, if everyone who receives this newsletter were to pledge a tiny £2 a month to iceandfire, we'd be able to DOUBLE the amount of work we do and the people we reach!

The above picture shows Sara Masters (co-Artistic Director until June 2010) with her gorgeous baby, Nell. We're hoping that the warm, fuzzy feeling it generates inspires you to donate the equivalent of simply 2 bottles of wine a year!! Please visit here or contact Lil for further details.

Every penny goes towards creating our signature honest and innovative drama.

Don't forget that if you can't donate directly, you can still help us by using Amazon for all your festive frivolity - we have signed up to their Affiliates Programme and for every purchase you make we get a little bit from Amazon themselves! You shop in the same way, but just click here rather than visiting the normal site - maybe bookmark it for future use, and make sure you tell all your family and friends too!!

In our last newsletter we highlighted some the work iceandfire has done with Trust for London. The short films  featured depicted true stories of poverty in the capital and were filmed by our wonderful Media Officer - Charlotte George, who has now flown the iceandfire nest and is pursuing her vocation of being a rather amazing film-maker. She recently won a competition to highlight the 'Robin Hood tax' campaign (view the video here ) but she's also done a huge amount of film work with NGOs and charities such as the Children's Society and Z2K. 

If you, or any of your colleagues think that making a short film would help to publicise the work of your orgaisation, do get in touch: we thoroughly recommend her!